Any word on Aaron Judge? What will Yankees target at trade deadline?

Tue, Jul 14, 2026

On this edition of Yankees Mailbag, SNY's Niki Lattarulo is joined by SNY MLB Insider Chelsea Janes to take on fan questions about the state of the Bronx Bombers. Questions are answered about Aaron Judge and his vague injury recovery timeline, Yankees' potential trade deadline strategy as well as their starting pitching rotation, and more.

Video Transcript

It seems like maybe there's a little more here, than it seemed at first.

I just, you know, I think it's certainly not the shortest possible timeline at this point.

What's up, guys?

Welcome to the latest edition of Yankees Mailbag, the show where we answer your questions.

I'm your host, Nicki Jada Rulo, and today I am joined by our SNY MLB insider, Chelsea Janes.

Chelsea, thank you so much for joining us here on your All-Star break.

Yeah.

Happy to be here.

What else would we be doing?

No All-Star break for us, but a couple days off for the guys.

Right Hopefully getting things back into gear.

Just a reminder before we get started, you can go to our Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to look for a post from SNY's account asking you to submit your questions to the show, and if you're watching here on YouTube you can drop the com- questions down in the comment section below.

Yankees finished off the first half on a four-game win streak, but they do still trail the Rays by three games for first place in the AL East while they await the returns of, of course, Aaron Judge, Max Freed, and a few other pieces for a second-half push.

So let's get things going with our first question from Ed Helinski on X.

He says, "Chelsea, please put on your GM hat.

What roster adjustments are you making?"

Ah.

I wish I had a hat.

I feel like I just got out of the shower and I'm, like, doing this.

But, but yeah.

I think, I think I wouldn't have said they need a starter until recently, but I think they need a starter just to make sure that they have the depth they thought they had.

I think the Carlos La Grande injury means you need one, two really elite bullpen help pieces.

I think, you know, again, they thought maybe La Grande was gonna be one of them.

I don't You can't count on that anymore with that injury.

And then they need the catcher, right?

I mean, the- we've talked about this for months.

I'm surprised, frankly, it hasn't happened yet.

I think it probably will very soon.

But they definitely need a catcher who can hit, and maybe someone else.

Maybe a, a versatile kind of infielder.

Someone you can put at third and, and, you know, have a better bat than McMahon or whatever it is.

But, I think they, they have more adjustments certainly than I thought they would need to make, you know, even a month ago, but, but they've got time.

You mentioned the starting pitching at New York 5NY on X said, "Have you heard anything regarding the Yankees being linked to any starting pitchers at the trade deadline?"

You know, I haven't heard anything kind of first hand from, like, other teams that say they're really pushing on this guy or this guy, but I think we all kind of know that Scoob is around.

The Tigers are playing better.

But, you know, I, I My kind of understanding is that they are a little more worried about the pitching depth than, again, they were, you know, when it looked like it was invincible.

So I, I think there will be somebody there that they get, whether that's, like, a Freddy Peralta, Clay Holmes rental type, I don't know.

I know Freddy Peralta's probably not making anyone feel better given the way he's been pitching.

But just a short-term guy who's not gonna blow your mind, or whether they really shoot high for whatever that is.

I don't think we fully know who's gonna be selling and what's available.

But I do think there'll be a starter added there, and it's just kind of a matter of figuring out who the sellers are because I think that's still very much in flux.

If you're a Yankee fan, do you want Freddy Peralta anywhere near your starting rotation?

I think so.

I mean, I, I think they'll fix him.

I think he might need a fresh start or I don't know.

I just Yeah, I mean, I think he's gonna be fine.

It's, it's one of those things, you're almost certain that when he gets out of Mets land, for whatever reason, he'll probably look great.

So just kind of the assumption we're all working on.

Yeah, it's hard to be good and locked in, I feel like, when you're on a team that's 17 games under 500, because it kind of I, I assume.

I've never pitched in the big leaves, leagues.

It definitely throws your mojo off one way or another.

@Kingpink said, "What's the concern level with the rough skid the Yankees had to close out June?

Seven straight Ls and a losing series to the Twins had me losing it."

I think they're okay.

I think it was a little bit more, I don't know, all-encompassing maybe than you thought they were capable of.

I certainly was surprised at how bad the offense looked at times, 'cause everyone looked bad, right?

It wasn't just the guys at the bottom of the lineup.

Like, Cody Bellinger looked lost, and Ben Rice looked lost, and everyone kind of looked lost at the same time.

I think they're coming out of it.

I think the break will help.

So I don't think it's a huge concern other than you now see that there's a world in which you can really beat the Yankees offense if you, you know, r- and rack up strikeouts against them.

Like, that is something that they can be vulnerable to.

I don't think they'll ever be as vulnerable to it as they were for the last few weeks.

I think they were really slumping and, you know, if Judge comes back healthy soon, then that's gonna help.

But, yeah, I think the level of concern is, like, now you know that's possible.

Now other teams have something to work with when they plan for them in the playoffs.

But I still don't think it's representative of how they'll play with the, with the season on the line.

The All-Star break came at a good time for the Yankees.

Yeah.

So if they're slumping, hopefully they regroup and everything is, good to go for the second half of the season.

You mentioned Aaron Judge.

Question from Gary Morris on YouTube, "Does anyone know when Judge will be back?"

Do you have an update for us?

N- not that they've shared.

And in fact, I think, you know, people kinda were talking about this before the break, that if you had counted four weeks, four to six weeks, you know, from the imaging, you know, they said the injury, then they're gonna do it in four to six weeks.

If they had had reason to believe things were good, that would've been a couple weeks ago.

They have since said he's gonna get imaging over the All-Star break, so maybe we'll have news then.

But I do think, at least from my perspective, it seems like maybe there's a little more here, than it seemed at first.

I just, you know, I think it's certainly not the shortest possible timeline at this point, right?

So what does that mean?

It's gonna be forever?

Does it mean there's more happening there?

I don't know.

I think Aaron Judge was pretty coy when people asked him before the break.

He didn't wanna talk about it, didn't wanna get into details until he had, you know, as he said, kind of a more positive update.

So I don't know if there's reason to be concerned in a way you weren't before, but I certainly think that it's just kind of nebulous at this point in a way that you always have to be nervous about, especially with a guy who- You know, it's h- it's kinda easy to forget is he's not getting younger.

Like, he's, he's an- Yeah older player.

So but no.

The short answer is no, but I think maybe some clarity after the break will come, if they're willing to share what they saw on the imaging.

And I think we'll know from what they're saying whether it's, a good sign or a bad sign.

Are you hearing anything that anyone is more concerned than they originally thought?

Like, internally, are you hearing any rumblings of anything, or you're just hearing what we're all hearing?

Nothing more other than I think it's This is kind of like a little bit speculative, but it definitely doesn't seem like everyone's certain that everything's good, right?

Even just the public- Yeah stuff we've heard, and that's mostly what I'm basing this on.

It just, it doesn't seem like everyone's like, "Oh, this is healing up really quick.

We're gonna be fine."

I, I think he'll be fine.

I, I have no reason to believe that there's like more going on.

But I do think, like they said, we need to wait for this bone to heal.

You know, he's not doing a lot of upper body exercise.

That was something that was shared last week, which means to me that there's gonna be a period even before you get back to baseball where he's gonna have to rebuild strength in the upper body so you don't get hurt again.

So to me, it just feels like the timeline is getting longer.

Mm-hmm.

And they were purposely not putting a timeline on it so someone like me- Yeah wouldn't sit here and say, "The timeline's getting longer."

Um- but you know, I think it's just, it's gonna take a while, and I think that's okay if a while means August, late August.

I think if you start getting, you know, into September, then you're worried.

But I have no reason to believe that that's where we are yet.

All right.

Let's talk about Carlos Rodn, someone else the Yankees need to get back.

They gotta get their starting rotation intact.

@JudgeCole46 said, "Do you think Carlos Rodn will pitch again this season?"

I do.

I, I'm curious to see what it will, will look like, you know?

I mean, you know, my under obviously you don't want inflammation, but it doesn't seem like there's gonna have to be some kind of like surgical intervention.

But you know, is he someone that suddenly becomes more of like a bulk guy?

I don't know.

They might have to get creative with him, but I think there's enough season left that he gets back, but it's certainly concerning.

You know, it's like the exact opposite really of, of Cole's progression back from surgery, which even though he hasn't been, you know, Gerrit Cole ace, you know, health-wise has been really good.

The inflammation for Rodn suggests that, you know, it's, it's still something that's, he's managing.

Like, the elbow is not where he wants it and, and that's, you know, dangerous but not necessarily, you know, dooming his season certainly.

And he pitched through a lot of elbow stuff last year before he had the surgeries, so he's a guy who's gonna try certainly.

So until we hear otherwise, I think it's I think there's enough time, but it's a, it's a concerning Anytime it's the elbow, it's obviously a problem.

Yeah.

It's kinda crazy to think about how many injuries they have- Yeah 'cause when you put them all back to back like this, you forget how many of them are actually not playing right now.

Fittler Is Your Father asks, "Do you envision Volpe playing second base a lot in the second half?"

not for the New York Yankees.

I don't know if maybe in Scranton, but I, I just don't really see it.

I don't know why, what the advantage would be.

Especially if you start adding someone at the deadline.

I just, like, I don't think he's hitting enough to sort of push, push Jazz.

You don't know what you're getting fielding-wise there.

I mean, I think he'd be good, but he hasn't had a lot of time to prepare.

So it, I just don't really see it as an advantage, for them in any way.

But that doesn't mean he might not be playing second in the minors to get ready for a future or a utility role or something if, you know, people come back and he gets bumped down.

But I just don't As things are currently constructed and knowing what's probably coming at the deadline, which is, like, more players with, who can hit, you know, I would think that that would probably only happen if you see some, like, major infield injuries, which are possible.

There was also some comments that were said that Anthony Volpe was saying, "I don't wanna play second.

I'm a shortstop."

What's your take on that?

Have you heard anything, and do you think that's legitimate and that he would not if they asked him to?

No, I think he'd play.

You know, I believe him when he says, like, he would do whatever.

I think there were multiple reports that he was kinda hesitant, to varying degrees.

We obviously have saw Michael Kay walk his back.

You know, you start to kinda think, "Okay, there's something there with him," right?

But my understanding just from talking to people is not that he said no to that.

I think it's more like, you know, he just hasn't had a lot of experience there, right?

So at this point, they're gonna have to find him time to kinda get those reps.

But no, I think for sure he would That's not my understanding of him as a person.

I think he truly would do what they asked him.

I also think he really wants to be prepared if he has to do that- Mm-hmm and not be kinda thrown into the fire.

So that is probably something that he would wanna prepare for in a more meaningful way than, like, three ground balls one day before a game and, and go out there.

I think he might need some time to kinda get comfortable there.

Yeah, especially with the way the fans kind of react toward him.

You don't wanna throw him into the fire and him make an error, and then it becomes a whole, a whole other situation.

Okay.

Finally, BX4Life27 said, "Obviously Ben Rice is one and done in the derby, but does he still get bragging rights over Jazz for beating his grand total of zero home runs?"

I mean, I think so.

Yeah.

The Jazz home run derby experiment was not a successful one.

Yeah.

Ben Rice, he, you know, I, I personally like, easy to say in hindsight, thought he would have like a little two-line drive.

He have a swing, for that.

Mm-hmm.

But he looked like he You know, he's kind of buttoned up when he's in the clubhouse these days, you know?

He's kind of trying to be that- Yeah not trying to be Aaron Judge, but you know, everyone kinda follows Judge, right?

They wanna, like, not show a ton of emotion.

He looked like he was thrilled yesterday.

Like, I- Mm-hmm I thought he was having a blast.

I saw him a few times down in the tunnel, before they went out there.

He was talking to the guys.

He was like, "Do we get Rocky music," you know?

Like, he was all excited.

Which was really fun to see from a guy who I, I really tries to kinda control that during the regular season.

So yeah, kind of a, not probably what he wanted outcome-wise, but to me at least, it seemed like he had a really, really good time.

And, that was just fun to see from a guy who was pretty buttoned up otherwise.

Yeah, I agree.

I feel like we saw his personality more than we have seen at all, 'cause we ran the sound on Sports Night last night, him just getting asked about it, and the way that he was like, "I thought I was gonna hit 50 home runs when I was in the cage."

"And then I got out there and I was like, 'Wait, this is way harder than I thought.'"

Yeah.

So I think It was so real.

I really appreciated that.

Yeah.

Yeah, I liked that he was just, like, honest and was talking about like, "Yeah, I'd come back maybe, but it was harder than I thought."

Um- Yeah.

Which guy would you wanna see from the Yankees do it next year?

Always Judge, but my- Yeah my real, like, answer would be Stanton one more time.

Um- Mm-hmm I, I s- I don't think it would ever happen just with his health, but one more Stanton would be, would be pretty cool.

I don't really see where it would happen.

Like, there's no sentimental reason for him to do it.

But he's, I mean, he's, he could destroy those baseballs.

They were- Yeah definitely juiced up last night, and like, w- he would, he would hit those a mile.

Yeah, I would love to see him and Judge go, go head-to-head Yeah in the Home Run Derby.

But I feel like now everyone's nervous about obviously getting hurt, so it's like we don't see- Yeah like, the, the guys we wanna see.

But a lot of good drama in that one yesterday.

I really liked it.

Yeah.

I was excited for Jordan Walker and his family.

It was the It's always a fun night to watch, and especially when it's a young guy, I feel like it means even more, 'cause they used to be the kids that were watching it and was hoping to do it.

But- Totally.

He's such a good dude, too, so it was fun to see him- Yeah do that.

Yeah, it was fun.

All right, so that does it for our show.

The Yankees kick off the second half of the 2024 rematch against the Dodgers at Yankee Stadium this weekend.

Gonna be a good one.

They play, they are right now three games out of first place in the ALA, so looking to chip away at that.

But guys, thank you so much for watching this episode of Yankees Mailbag.

You can submit your questions for the next episode on SNY's Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or if you're watching on YouTube, drop them in the comments.

Again, thank you so much for watching this episode.

For Chelsea Janes, I'm Nikki LaTerza-Rulo, and we will see you back here next time.