The New York Yankees are re-calling OF Spencer Jones from AAA Scranton in wake of Aaron Judge being placed on the IL with a stress fracture in his ribs and will miss about two months. This will be the Yankees toughest challenge of the 2026 season yet because Judge has been their biggest offensive catalyst.
Jones Returning
Jones got a taste of big league life earlier this month, and it did not go well. In 10 games (24 at-bats), Jones posted a .426 OPS with no home runs, just two RBI’s in the small sample. Jones also struck out 12 times in that sample, which is high. It’s fair to add that Jones saw some of the best pitching MLB has to offer, like starting his career against Jacob Misiorowski, who is in the Cy Young conversation in the NL.
Jones is going to have some big shoes to fill, but the Yankees are looking for his power to show up at the big league level. If he can pop some home runs, hopefully with baserunners in big spots, he will be able to help the Yankees offense.
Jones can play Gold Glove caliber defense, so the Yankees will not take a step back in that department. His speed has always been one of his calling cards, and the Yankees are hoping that he can show that off defensively and on the basepaths.
Yankees Offense Without Judge
The Yankees are in a better position to withstand a prolonged absence from Judge in 2026 compared to where they were without him in 2023 when he missed significant time and returned in late July.This year, they have Cody Bellinger having his best offensive season since his 2019 MVP season, and Ben Rice putting up numbers that we only could have dreamed of.
According to The Athletic, the Yankees offense, if you remove all at-bats from Judge this season, would rank fifth in all of baseball. It’s still a drop off from where they are now, but the offense should be able to do enough to tread water. The Yankees face a relatively easy schedule over the next few weeks, so that should help things as well.
The Yankees are also expecting the returns of Jasson Dominguez and Giancarlo Stanton from injury over the next two weeks. Adding even just one of those two names back into the lineup will give it a boost. Stanton was having one of the best starts to the season of his career before his calf injury, and Dominguez looked solid for the two-week stretch before he injured his shoulder.
The Yankees pitching staff, especially their starting pitching, is also much better than it was in 2023. That year, Gerrit Cole won the Cy Young award, while the rest of the rotation was rattled with injuries and, on the whole, was not the best. This season, Cam Schlittler is a Cy Young contender, Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón look solid in their return from injuries, and Will Warren took a step in his development. Ryan Weathers has also been an excellent pickup for the Yankees. That’s even without Max Fried, who’s on the IL now and should return within the next month.
Losing a talent like Aaron Judge hurts, but the Yankees are in a position to withstand it better than they were a few years ago, now the team on the field just has to show it.
Main Image Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
