How Aaron Judge's New IL Stint Impacts Yankees' End to Season

Ahead of their series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night, New York Yankees fans received disappointing news about superstar slugger Aaron Judge, which will certainly put a damper on the team’s playoff hopes.

According to Brian Hoch of MLB.com, the Yankees announced that Judge will be placed on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with a right calf strain. The club also said that a corresponding move regarding Judge’s spot on the roster will be made at that time.

As you can imagine, this is the last thing Yankees fans wanted to hear with a pivotal last week of the season ahead for Aaron Boone’s club. Entering Friday night’s series opener against Arizona, the Yankees are currently five games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East and the top seed in the American League, which gets a bye to the ALDS.

However, those hopes and dreams have likely taken a massive hit now that Judge is possibly done for the rest of the season. This was the exact news they were dreading after the superstar slugger was pulled from Wednesday’s game against the Minnesota Twins in the sixth inning with what was called right lower-leg tightness.

At the time, Judge didn’t seem too concerned when speaking with reporters after the game, but one wonders how this latest stint on the injured list will impact New York going forward.

Aaron Judge going back on the IL throws a curveball at the Yankees

For starters, let’s talk about who will likely be called up to take Judge’s place on the roster. It will likely be Jasson Dominguez, who is currently at Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes/Barre. Dominguez has struggled this season, whether in the big leagues or down in the minors.

However, this month at AAA, Dominguez is slashing .412/.524/.647 with two home runs, five RBI, and an OPS of 1.171. He’s also recorded six stolen bases, drawn seven walks, and struck out three times in 11 games (42 plate appearances).

Jasson Domínguez goes 4-for-5 tonight with a homer, two doubles, and a single while driving in a pair. 👏#RepBX pic.twitter.com/2dclesQVJT
— SWB RailRiders (@swbrailriders) September 18, 2026

The 23-year-old is coming off a ridiculous game against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, going 4-for-5 at the plate with two doubles, a single, a home run, and two RBI. That said, Dominguez alone won’t be able to fill the void left by Judge.

We will also likely see more at-bats for Heliot Ramos, whose tenure in the Bronx did not start off so great, but he’s performed better as of late. In his last 10 games, the veteran outfielder is hitting .280 with a double, two home runs, seven RBI, and an OPS of .979.

In the meantime, as Dominguez and Ramos try to hold it down in right field, the Yankees will need their big bats to shoulder the load, aka Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, and Luis Garcia Jr. at the top of the order. New York will also need rookie Spencer Jones to continue providing a surge of power from the left side.

Will it be enough in the end? It’s hard to say because this team’s offense has been inconsistent this season due to injuries. When Judge went out the first time with the rib, New York hit .228 at the plate, which was one of the lowest marks in baseball.

And things won’t get easier for this squad, as they will play the Diamondbacks this weekend and then have a huge four-game series next week against the Tampa Bay Rays. Granted, New York will be at home, but the Rays have quality pitching that can frustrate this Yankees lineup and put them into a tailspin.

Needless to say, if you’re a Yankees fan, the hope is that Judge returns in the regular-season finale against the Baltimore Orioles on Sept. 27, the earliest possible date. But if not, then you are looking at him coming back to start the wild-card round two days later, and who knows how productive he will be jumping back into the swing of things.

For a team with World Series aspirations, seeing their captain go down again for the second time after just returning last week puts a damper on the final week of the season.

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