Yankees injury list giveth and taketh away as Chisholm goes down after Judge returns

Just as Aaron Judge finally returned to the lineup after missing 84 games over 100 days with a stress fracture in one of his ribs, the Yankees are losing another important piece of their lineup for at least the next week or so.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. is headed to the 10-day injured list with a sprained right thumb, suffered when he jammed the hand while diving headfirst into second base during the eighth inning of Tuesday’s 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies.

Chisholm will be shut down from baseball activities for the next 7-10 days, putting his availability for the remainder of the regular season in question.

In his absence, the Yankees turned to a familiar face as they recalled Anthony Volpe from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre, where the 25-year-old has found his rhythm again, hitting .295 with 10 home runs in 27 games.

The shortstop has expanded his defensive capabilities by playing second and third base as well, which will come in handy while Chisholm is on the mend.

Bad Timing for Chisholm Injury

The injury comes at a particularly frustrating time for Chisholm, who had begun to salvage what had otherwise been a down offensive season by his standards.

After becoming an All-Star and Silver Slugger winner while producing the fourth 30-homer, 30-steal season in Yankees history in 2025, Chisholm has hit .232 with 19 homers and 55 RBIs this year.

His 40 stolen bases remain tied for the American League lead, but the overall offensive production has fallen short of what he established a year ago. 

Over his last 29 games, however, Chisholm was batting .295 with an .832 OPS, including a .381 average over the last 14 games.

 

With the 28-year-old eligible to become a free agent after the season, the strong finish was giving him an opportunity to restore some of the value he had established during his breakout 2025 campaign before the thumb injury interrupted the run.

Still, Chisholm appeared to be in good spirits during Wednesday night’s 6-1 rout of Colorado. He remained in the dugout with his teammates, smiling and enjoying the game while wearing what appeared to be a plastic splint on his injured right hand.

While Chisholm watched, the rookie who displaced Volpe at shortstop, George Lombard Jr., delivered the biggest swing of Wednesday’s victory, launching his first career grand slam in the third inning and giving the Yankees their first bases-loaded home run of the entire season. 

At 21 years and 99 days old, Lombard became the second-youngest Yankee ever to hit a grand slam, following a 20-year-old Mickey Mantle in 1952.

Lombard has been in the majors for barely a month, having made his debut on Aug. 4, but the moment gave the organization another glimpse of the upside it envisioned when it elevated the former first round pick into the starting shortstop role.

Aaron Judge's Return: Where Things Stand

Among the runners Lombard knocked in was Judge, who was hitless in three at-bats on Tuesday, but lined a single into left field in the third inning Wednesday for his first hit since returning from the injured list.

He added another single to left in the eighth, finishing 2-for-4 before being replaced by pinch-runner Jasson Dominguez. Judge played eight innings in right field after playing six in his return, part of Boone’s plan to gradually increase his workload after such a lengthy absence. 

Judge has not yet returned to MVP form but his presence is already making an impact. There are still 27 outs to find, and putting Judge back in the No. 3 spot changes where opposing pitchers can safely look for them.

Cody Bellinger, batting directly in front of Judge on Wednesday, belted a solo home run in the eighth inning. Luis García Jr., hitting cleanup behind Judge, opened the scoring with a solo shot in the second. Garcia later doubled in the third before Lombard’s slam. 

The Yankees are still dealing with substantial injury issues, with designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton on the 60-day IL due to a left calf strain and center fielder Trent Grisham sidelined with a Grade 2 right hamstring strain.

The pitching staff has also not been spared from the injury plague, with left-hander Ryan Weathers resuming throwing following a forearm flexor strain and reliever Fernando Cruz opting for conservative therapy after a partial tear to his right UCL.

The Yankees, now 83-62, entered Thursday four games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East and four games ahead of the Boston Red Sox. They’ll go for a three-game sweep of Colorado on Thursday evening with left-hander Max Fried expected on the mound.