MLB analyst believes even minor Aaron Judge injury could be disastrous for Yankees in 2025

The New York Yankees haven't got the start they would have hoped for in 2025, as many key pieces have been sidelined due to injury.

After starter Luis Gil and slugger Giancarlo Stanton were placed on the IL, Gerrit Cole was the latest name to join them. Aaron Judge seems to be the last remaining big name who's not injured as the Yanks look to start off on a winning note.

After his Grapefruit League start on Thursday, Gerrit Cole felt discomfort in his throwing arm and underwent an MRI. The Yankees await the results, but, in all likelihood, Cole will miss Opening Day.

That significantly dampens Yankees' hopes of a strong starting rotation, which was bolstered in the offseason with the arrival of Max Fried after he signed an eight-year $218 million contract. He will become the ace in Cole's absence.

As revealed last week, Luis Gil will also be completely shut down for at least six weeks, meaning his return could be pushed back to June. That thins the rotation further, with Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, Marcus Stroman behind Fried and Aaron Boone needing to call up Will Warren from the Triple-A.

In the offensive department, Giancarlo Stanton, who showed signs of his best-self in the postseason in 2024, has been shutdown from baseball activities since mid-January. He has been taking platelet-rich plasma injections treatment, and his return date is uncertain.

In this context, Red Sox insider Jared Carrabis opiner that the Yankees' downfall could be away from one small injury to Aaron Judge. He retweeted a fan account that said that Judge's injury separated the Yanks from becoming the record-loss setting 2024 Chicago White Sox:

"Don’t boo him he’s right"

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Giancarlo Stanton and Gerrit Cole of the Yankees give updates on their injury status

There's a level of concern in the Yankees camp regarding Giancarlo Stanton and Gerrit Cole's injuries.

Both stalwarts in the New York roster commented on their injuries on Saturday.

“It’s going to get to a point of pain tolerance and go from there,” Stanton said. “I don’t think it’s going to be a 100 percent healed thing and start up. It’ll be, get to a point and just deal with it, similar to last year.

“There were a lot of good things that were happening in the game the other day, but as I got home, I just continued to get more and more sore,” Cole said. “When I woke up [Friday] morning, something wasn’t right. … It was tough to sleep. It was alarming.”

The Yankees are looking to make it to their second consecutive World Series this year.

Without Stanton, the bulk of the responsibility will fall on Aaron Judge's shoulders after the Yankees were unable to re-sign Juan Soto. Similarly, the rotation will have to work without Cole who has been the team's ace since he signed with the Yankees in 2019.