Aaron Judge didn't get a worst-case diagnosis for his troublesome shoulder injury Thursday, but he's going to miss some time. And that's a big blow for the Yankees, and for Judge's Fantasy managers.
Judge was diagnosed with a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side. The injury was originally described as a shoulder injury, but after testing and imaging, the rib was isolated as the issue. He'll take the next 4-6 weeks off from baseball activities and then will have additional imaging taken to determine if the injury has healed. If it has, he'll then need to build back up to game shape, so we're probably looking at more like a two-month timetable for Judge to return to the Yankees lineup. It could be less than that, but even a return around the All-Star break should be looked at as close to a best-case scenario at this point.
Obviously, there's no replacing Judge, though the irony is you do, in fact, have to replace Aaron Judge. It'll be hard, and your lineup will take a hit (as will the Yankees'), but there are ways to weather the storm. The Yankees will likely try to fill the holes in their lineup with names like Jose Caballero and Max Scheumann in the outfield, but they'll need to find some upside if they want to keep the lineup afloat. That might mean giving Spencer Jones another chance – he struggled in his first taste of the majors, but he's one of the few players in the organization with at least conceivable upside to make them miss Judge somewhat less. We'll also likely see a lot of Giancarlo Stanton and Jasson Dominguez when they are healthy.
As for your lineup? You can go for some boring fill-ins for now, but you should really be scouring the trade market to try to find someone to slot into that Judge-sized hole. Of course, trying to trade for Corbin Carroll or Juan Soto would just leave you with a hole somewhere else, so what you should really be doing is looking for some buy-low candidates to target in trades. You'll still have to give up something, but because these guys are off to poor starts, there's an opportunity to profit from them turning their seasons around. Here's who I'd be looking to acquire:
A couple of buy-low targets
Fernando Tatis, Padres – Tatis feels like the most obvious candidate here. He's been a top-25 pick multiple years running, and his physical tools still look mostly intact – he is in the 90th percentile in sprint speed and 94th percentile in hard-hit rate, with the highest average bat speed of his career. His swing has been all jacked up, as you are almost certainly well aware of, which is why he has just one homer and nine extra-base hits in 60 games this season. As it turns out, no matter how hard you hit the ball, it's not gonna go over the fence if you hit it on the ground. But Tatis has recently made some tweaks to his setup that might be allowing him to get the ball in the air more consistently, and we've seen flashes lately, including his first homer five games ago and then a double off the left field wall earlier this week. Tatis may never get his swing right, but I'm willing to bet on it if it comes at a discounted price. He's still a top-25 player for me in my rankings despite the awful start, but you shouldn't have to pay anything like that kind of price to acquire him.
Brent Rooker, Athletics – I'm a bit less confident that Rooker will turn things around, if for no other reason than: Sometimes 31-year-olds really do just fall off a cliff. Rooker's contact skills have slipped this season, which is certainly a pretty big red flag. But he's also still in the 90th percentile in barrel rate and hasn't actually seen a dropoff in his swing speed, so I'm not sure the signs of physical decline are as obvious as the production dropoff would make you think. The nice thing with Rooker is mostly that you can probably get him for dirt cheap, and I still think there is definite 30-homer potential here.
Some outfielders to add
Jac Caglianone, OF, Royals (64%) – The production remains exceedingly disappointing, and now that Caglianone is over a year into his MLB career, it's hard to just ignore that. On the other hand, we're talking about a 23-year-old recent top prospect with a 93.4 mph average exit velocity and .340 expected wOBA for the season, a mark he is dramatically underperforming. There's a lot of swing and miss here, and still too much hard contact hit into the ground, but the upside remains pretty obvious here, and we are looking for upside.
Noelvi Marte, Reds (48%) – Marte didn't play the first day after his promotion, which is a bit of a concern, given how little Terry Francona trusted him early in the season. But as I said when he was promoted yesterday, there's still plenty of reason to hope Marte can be a difference maker, even if he's obviously a pretty big risk.
Sam Antonacci, White Sox (55%) – Antonacci has a totally different skill set than Judge, so if you add him in a Roto league, you're definitely not getting anything close to a like-for-like replacement. But I think Antonacci is good. Potentially very good, with a plus hit tool, non-zero power, and 30-plus steal potential. He'll get on base a bunch too, which gives him some run upside. If you're just looking for production – or if you're in a points league – I think Antonacci is one of the more under-rostered players in Fantasy right now.
Jasson Dominguez, Yankees (37%) – Dominguez is working his way back from a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder, but he's set to start a rehab assignment Friday and could be back in the Yankees lineup next week. Before Judge's injury, it was fair to wonder if he had an everyday role waiting for him, but now I think he's definitely going to get some extended run. Dominguez hasn't made himself indispensable in the majors yet, but he's still just 23 and has plenty of talent – even if the power hasn't been what we were promised.
Now, here's what else you need to know about from Thursday's action around MLB:
Friday's waiver-wire targets
J.T. Ginn, SP, Athletics (56%) – Over the past six starts, Ginn is down to a 1.49 ERA and 0.94 WHIP with better than a strikeout per inning. The ERA estimators don't really back it up, but his xERA does suggest he could still be something like a 3.70 ERA guy. And with the strikeout rate trending up, maybe the overall season-long numbers aren't quite matching the growth we've seen from Ginn lately. Either way, he's an RP-eligible starter who gets the Marlins next week, so I want him in my lineup.
Bryce Eldridge, DH, Giants (42%) – We're still dealing with very small sample sizes with Eldridge, but we're also seeing what we wanted from him so far. That includes a totally manageable 25% strikeout rate and some elite quality of contact metrics. Eldridge still hasn't faced many lefties, and he has struck out in six of 13 PA appearances against them, so that's a big red flag. But we're at the point where the Giants are starting to let him play every day, and there could be 35-plus homer upside here if he is going to remain a 25% strikeout rate guy. Given the upside, it's worth adding Eldridge everywhere just in case – and that'll get easier when he makes his next appearance at first base and gains eligibility there in CBS Fantasy leagues.
Thursday's standouts
Jackson Chourio, OF, Brewers – We're starting to see the signs of a breakout here. Chourio hadn't put up particularly impressive quality of contact numbers in his first two seasons in the majors, but he's starting to show it in his age-22 season, putting up a 92.8 mph average exit velocity even before his two-homer game Thursday. There's been a spike in his strikeout rate to go along with it, though notably not because he's swinging and missing more – it's because he's become a more selective hitter, drawing more walks and looking for pitches he can drive a bit more consistently. It's the kind of tradeoff we'll take from a guy with these kinds of physical tools, and it could be the sign that he's about to truly live up to the hype.
Zach Wheeler, Phillies vs. SD: 7 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K – The fact that Wheeler more or less looks like himself about nine months removed from Thoracic Outlet surgery continues to amaze me. He has several at-bats today where hitters just didn't look comfortable, as his four-seamer was humming and basically averaged the same velocity as last season. The overall strikeout rate hasn't been there yet, but basically everything else has been for Wheeler, who has gone six or more innings in seven straight starts. He isn't quite the same guy he was before the surgery, but he sure looks like a top-15 starting pitcher to me. I didn't expect that after this injury.
Shota Imanaga, Cubs vs. ATH: 6 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 K – I'm not really worried too much about Imanaga, to be honest. I mean, sure, 12 homers in a four-start stretch is awful, but it also feels like the kind of thing that might just always be within the realm of possible outcomes for a pitcher like Imanaga. We saw him run hot for the first nine starts of the season, and we've seen about the absolute worst possible from him since. I still expect the ERA to be below 4.00 moving forward, and we know the WHIP will be elite. I'm buying Imanaga if you're selling.
Carlos Rodon, Yankees vs. CLE: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K – We just need to get the walks under control. Rodon has just one start in five with fewer than three walks, but everything else mostly looks like it's supposed to, so I think he'll get there. The good news is the control hasn't held him back yet, with a 2.88 ERA and 3.50 FIP through five starts. When he locks in, I think Rodon will look like a top-30 SP, at least.
Trevor Rogers, Orioles @BOS: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K – I never had a great grasp for why Rogers was so much better in 2025 than he had been in prior years. The stuff was a little better across the board, but not so much so that it made sense that he went from a total non-factor to one of the most effective pitchers in baseball. Of course, that also made it hard to figure out just why he was so bad to open this season – and consequently makes it tough to figure out why he was so much better in this one. I think it mostly comes down to command, as Rogers did a good job keeping the four-seamers high and the sinkers down in this one, which is what you want. Of course, he still only struck out three and had nine whiffs on 87 pitches, so it's not like he dominated. If you haven't dropped Rogers, maybe you shouldn't after this one, but I'm not necessarily seeing much from this start to suggest you need to run out and add him if he's available, either.
Jared Jones, Pirates @HOU: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K – There was a bit of a different look from Jones here, as his slider and changeup came in with even more velocity than last week. The slider in particular sat at 91 and had three less inches of drop, an interesting wrinkle to keep an eye on moving forward. He generated six whiffs with the slider and 12 overall on just 74 pitches, and is showing obvious upside. He should be rostered in all leagues just in case he figures it out and gets there.
Justin Wrobleski, Dodgers @ARI: 6 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K – We're starting to see Wrobleski throw a bit harder and miss a few more bats lately, which was a necessity given how microscopically low his strikeout rate was early on. He'll likely never be a big strikeout guy, and he still looks like an obvious sell-high candidate with his 2.63 ERA and 1.00 WHIP for the season. But it all looks a bit more sustainable if he can get the strikeout rate closer to one per inning (he's at 8.1 per nine over the past five starts, though there's been a lot of fluctuation there, too).
Seth Lugo, Royals @MIN: 5 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K – The nice thing about Lugo is that, when things are going well, you know you're going to get a lot of volume from him. His wide arsenal and plus control can lead to stretches where he looks really good, and those stretches can be very valuable for Fantasy when he's going 7-8 innings every time out. But we're still talking about a likely high-3.00s-to-low-4.00s ERA pitcher with a mediocre WHIP, so I can't exactly call that a must-roster pitcher, either. Personally, I'd rather he be someone else's problem than mine, though it's hard to trade him coming off a start like this.
