Aaron Judge received some concerning news about his shoulder injury on Thursday, though it wasn’t the worst-case scenario. Unfortunately, this setback means he will be sidelined for a while, posing a significant challenge for the Yankees and for Fantasy managers relying on him.
Doctors have identified a stress fracture in the first rib on Judge’s right side. Initially suspected to be a shoulder issue, further tests pinpointed the rib as the source of his discomfort. Judge is expected to take a 4-6 week hiatus from baseball activities before undergoing additional imaging to assess healing progress. Assuming a smooth recovery, he will then need time to regain game readiness, suggesting a return to the Yankees lineup might not occur until around the All-Star break, or possibly sooner in a best-case scenario.
Replacing a player of Judge’s caliber is no easy task for the Yankees, yet necessity demands it. The team may look to players like Jose Caballero and Max Scheumann to fill the gaps in the outfield, though finding someone to match Judge’s impact is another story. Spencer Jones, who struggled in his initial MLB stint, might get another opportunity, given his potential to partly offset Judge’s absence. Additionally, Giancarlo Stanton and Jasson Dominguez may feature more prominently once they are back to full health.
For those managing Fantasy teams, finding a replacement for Judge is crucial. While temporary solutions can fill in the gap, exploring the trade market is advisable. Acquiring high-profile players like Corbin Carroll or Juan Soto could create other lineup issues. Instead, targeting players who have underperformed but show promise of bouncing back is a strategic move. Here are some players to consider:
Fernando Tatis of the Padres stands out as a prime candidate. Despite a rocky start, his athletic prowess remains evident, ranking in the 90th percentile for sprint speed and the 94th percentile for hard-hit rate. Tatis has been making adjustments to elevate his hitting, which have recently started to pay off. Though not without risk, acquiring him at a reduced cost could prove rewarding, as he remains a top-tier player in potential.
Brent Rooker from the Athletics is another option, though with some reservations. At 31, there’s always a chance of decline, but Rooker’s barrel rate is still impressive, and his swing speed has remained consistent. While his performance has dipped, the physical signs of decline aren’t as apparent. Given his potential to hit 30 homers, Rooker might be a bargain acquisition for Fantasy managers.
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.
