MLB Injury Report – How Bad is it, Judge?

Welcome to the Fantrax MLB Injury Report for Friday, June 5, 2026. In today’s edition, Aaron Judge will miss significant time with a stress fracture. Also, Brent Rooker is hurting, Cole Ragans is improving, and there are many major returns planned for this weekend. You can read about all of this and so much more in today’s MLB Injury Report from Fantrax.

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MLB Injury Report

Aaron Judge – OF New York Yankees

The Yankees have announced that Aaron Judge has a stress fracture. He will be reimaged in approximately 4-6 weeks. The team does expect him to return this season. pic.twitter.com/6uVLGK5P8N

— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) June 5, 2026

The news finally broke about Judge’s ongoing injury, and, while it’s not good, it’s also not as bad as it could have been. First, the diagnosis: it is a stress fracture on his ribs, which is a difficult injury from which to heal. They are very difficult to even identify on any imaging done, simply because they’re so microscopic. As such, he could have been dealing with this for quite some time (hence his struggles at the plate). In fact, he likely had a stress reaction, which is the initial stage of a fracture happening. However, here we are, and now what needs to be done? With him requiring a four-to-six week shutdown before re-examination, his activity until then should be minimal. Most stress fractures are the result of overuse on a particular area, so he would be wise to take things slowly. The team does expect him to play again this season, but the number of games will be tricky. He is still worth stashing in leagues even without spots on the Injured List, simply because he’s one of the best in baseball. That said, we won’t know more about his healing progress until around the All-Star Break.

New York Yankees – Team Update

Plan is for Jasson Dominguez to play in rehab games on Friday and Sunday, then will likely need a few more next week before he’s ready.

Giancarlo Stanton not expected to join the Yankees on the upcoming road trip as he goes through his buildup.

— Greg Joyce (@GJoyce9) June 4, 2026

None of this is surprising, as Giancarlo Stanton has never been a quick healer. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Jasson Dominguez back with the Yankees while Stanton is still in his current state of taking live batting practice. A reminder that this is the same player who was unable to open a bag of chips in the offseason because both of his elbows were causing too much pain. His injury status usually goes to extremes, and this is just another example of that.

Kansas City Royals – Team Update

More injury updates…

—Cole Ragans is playing catch, progressing well and feels good
—Kris Bubic is on a regular bullpen schedule
—Carlos Estévez continues to play catch and is on track with his progression. Still in the early stages there

— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) June 4, 2026

A lot of positivity coming out of Kansas City here. Cole Ragans suffered a setback after not feeling great following his rehab start almost two weeks ago. Since then, he’s been able to get himself enough rest to begin the process of playing catch. It’s unclear if they will expedite his ramp up procoess and skip some of the smaller increments and allow him to throw bullpen sessions to live batters. Stay tuned on that, as how quickly they process it here will indicate their feelings on how injured he really is. As for Kris Bubic, it’s good to see him playing catch after suffering arm fatigue. That setback appears to be in the rearview window, though there is no timetable here at all. Finally, the team will take things slowly with Carlos Estevez, which likely means he won’t be in line for saves for quite some time….if at all in 2026.

Maikel Garcia – 3B Kansas City Royals

Maikel Garcia (hamstring) is improving and available off the bench, manager Matt Quatraro said, but team still wants be cautious. With Stephen Kolek going on the family medical emergency list, they had an extra roster spot, so infielder Josh Rojas provides some protection.

— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) June 4, 2026

Garcia last played on Saturday and has now missed five games because of this injury. As such, the time to retroactively date any potential designation on the Injured List will lose some value and make the time missed seemingly wasteful. Still, he is one of their best players, and as mentioned, the Royals want to be extra cautious. Since he hasn’t yet been placed on the Injured List, chances are that this is close enough for him to possibly return this weekend.

Brent Rooker – OF Sacramento Athletics

Brent Rooker is dealing with some knee soreness, which is why he's out of the A's lineup today. Kotsay said he's day to day: "This is more caution just to get him a day to see if we can get ahead of it as opposed to continuing to go in the wrong direction.”

— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) June 4, 2026

From the sounds of it, the team is taking the precautionary route here, allowing Rooker to take some time off now before the soreness turns into something more. It’s unclear if he’s been battling through this all season, but his output thus far has been everything but good. As an early-round pick, he’s batting under .200 on the season, and, although he’s got eight home runs, his reduced bat speed at his age 31 season is concerning. He might be worth a buy-low opportunity, as his current manager is likely frustrated, but there’s no guarantee he returns to his old ways of near-elite production.

Landon Roupp – SP San Francisco Giants

Landen Roupp threw a bullpen around 30 pitches this morning and said he felt good after he dealt with back discomfort in his last outing.

He said he’s on track to make his next start, which would be Saturday against the Cubs.

— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) June 4, 2026

The concern for Roupp missing time seems to have gone away, as it appears that he is ready to go tomorrow. Keep yourself updated before their game, but there’s a good chance he fulfills that role of a two-start pitcher this week and hopefully redeems himself here with a better outcome.

Dylan Cease – SP Toronto Blue Jays

Dylan Cease’s day is done with Buffalo:

4IP 6H 6K 1BB 5ER

He got up to 75 pitches (50 strikes), which likely means he can re-join the #BlueJays next turn if needed

— Mitch Bannon (@MitchBannon) June 4, 2026

It was always believed that Cease would need just this one rehab start before returning to the Blue Jays’ rotation. Throwing 75 pitches all but confirms that he is ready, regardless of the outcome of those pitches.

Edward Cabrera – SP Chicago Cubs

Edward Cabrera will come off the IL tomorrow and face the Giants, Counsell said.

— Meghan Montemurro (@MegMontemurro) June 4, 2026

As expected. Be prepared!

Jose Altuve – 2B Houston Astros

Altuve came out of live BP well and it’s still possible he could be activated this weekend.

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) June 4, 2026

Be prepared!

Corey Seager – SS Texas Rangers

The Rangers are expected to activate Corey Seager (back) from the injured list tomorrow ahead of the series opener against the Guardians

Cody Freeman and Alejandro Osuna are expected to be sent down, leaving two roster spots open

Wyatt Langford could get the other spot

— kennedi landry (@kennlandry) June 4, 2026

Be prepared! (possibly twice)