Yankees have a .419 Aaron Judge problem amid injured list news

The New York Yankees are 37-26, only 1.0 game back of the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the American League East. This is a good ballclub, and one that should be able to make a run this year.

However, for the next month or so, there is going to be a very serious problem that the Yankees are going to have to deal with: Aaron Judge's placement on the injured list.

While this is an obvious issue, being without their MVP candidate, USA Today's Bob Nightengale highlighted a .419 percentage issue for the Yankees amid Judge's extended absence.

Yankees to face .419 Aaron Judge problem amid injury

"The Yankees entered Saturday with a .419 winning percentage when Judge doesn't start since 2022, averaging 3.8 runs a game," Nightengale writes. "They have a .592 winning percentage, averaging five runs a game, when he starts."

This is a massive difference between when Judge is in the lineup and when he's not. It's obvious that the Yankees would be worse without their best player, but this difference is a bit more worrisome for the Yankees.

Judge being out of the lineup is going to sting, as Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger are going to have to pick up the slack in Judge's absence.

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Over the last four seasons, whenever Judge is out of the lineup, things don't go well for the Yankees. That .419 winning percentage is a worse figure than the New York Mets' .438 winning percentage during the 2026 season.

Only the San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies, 26-39 and 24-41, respectively, have a worse winning percentage this season than the Yankees have had over the last four years when Judge misses time.

It's clear the Yankees are going to go through some issues without Judge, but this .419 winning percentage without Judge is going to be a serious problem if it doesn't improve during his four-to-six week absence this season.

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