NEW YORK — While the Yankees will be without Anthony Volpe on Opening Day after the shortstop had his left shoulder surgically repaired, a far more important member of the team’s lineup avoided the knife.

That would be Aaron Judge, who will not have his right elbow operated on this offseason after suffering a right flexor strain midway through the 2025 season. Aaron Boone shared that welcomed update on Thursday as he and Brian Cashman held their postmortem press conference at Yankee Stadium a week after their club’s elimination in the ALDS.

“He actually had an MRI after the season,” Boone said. “It showed continued improvement in the flexor muscles, and he finished the season doing pretty well. So no surgery is going to be needed for Aaron.”

There had been some speculation that Judge would require surgery, and thus miss the start of the 2026 season, as he struggled to throw with intensity at times once he returned to right field in early September. With Judge working through an expedited throwing program, teams tested his typically-deterring arm down the stretch and through the playoffs.

However, he did start to throw with velocity toward the very end of the regular season and in the postseason.

While Boone said Judge won’t need a procedure, he will take some time to rest before some strength-focused rehab for his arm. The important thing however, is that the MVP candidate is expected to be the Yankees’ everyday right fielder and ready to go from jump in 2026.

Still, Volpe will not be the only Yankee to miss the start of the season, as Boone revealed that Carlos Rodón had a left elbow scope performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Wednesday. The southpaw had some loose bodies removed; Boone believed a bone spur was shaved off.

As a result, Rodón will not throw for the next eight weeks and will likely miss the first “couple weeks” of the season,” Boone said.

Cashman, still waiting to have his pro scouting meetings with his front office, said he didn’t know if Rodón’s injury will prompt him to explore the free agent and trade markets for a starter yet. The general manager expects Rodón, fresh off his best season in pinstripes, to be back sometime in April or early May at the latest, barring any setbacks.

While Cashman always feels one can never have enough pitching, he added Rodón is “coming back, so I have to make sure there’s room on that roster when he does.”

With Rodón hitting the shelf, the Yankees will be down three of their top starting pitchers at the beginning of the 2026 season. That’s because Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt will still be working their way back from Tommy John surgery.

Boone confirmed that Cole, who underwent his operation this past spring, will not be an Opening Day option. However, the hope is that he can rejoin the Yankees’ rotation shortly thereafter.

“So far, everything’s going according to plan,” Boone said.

Cole will start throwing off the mound lightly next week. Boone said the righty will then “de-load” after a few weeks, and he’ll meet with ElAttrache sometime next month and before spring training.

Boone hopes to see Cole face live hitters during camp.

Schmidt, who is 14 weeks removed from having his UCL reconstructed, will start his throwing program in December. The right-hander is an option for the second half of the season.

That leaves the Yankees with Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Luis Gil as incumbent, healthy rotation options. There’s also top-100 prospect Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, among other farmhands.

Finally, Boone said Giancarlo Stanton is not expected to undergo procedures for his tennis elbows. He’ll continue to treat the lingering injuries, but Boone is not worried about Stanton missing the start of spring training like he did last year.

“I never want to speak in absolutes like that,” the skipper said, “but I feel like we’re in a pretty good spot going into the winter.”

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