When the Yankees open their season April 7 against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium, they may or may not be without star outfielder Aaron Judge.

Under the city’s current vaccine mandates, that will depend on Judge’s vaccination status – which he’s not sharing.

What You Need To Know

  • Unvaccinated Mets and Yankees players would be barred from home games under city’s private employer vaccination mandate

  • Neither team has disclosed which players are unvaccinated; Yankees star Aaron Judge would not answer when asked his status Tuesday

  • The city’s mandate applies to virtually all New York City-based employees who perform in-person work
  • Unvaccinated Nets star Kyrie Irving remains banned from playing home games; NBA fined the Nets $50,000 after he visited the locker room Sunday

Asked directly Tuesday if he’s been vaccinated, Judge sidestepped the question. “I’m so focused on just getting through the first game of spring training,” he said at a news conference at the Yankees’ spring training facility. “So I think we’ll cross that bridge whenever the time comes. But right now, so many things could change, so I’m not really too worried about that right now.”

As it currently stands, the Yankees and Mets are both subject to the city’s private employer vaccination mandate, which was imposed by Mayor Bill de Blasio during the omicron surge in December. It applies to virtually all New York City-based employees who perform in-person work. 

That includes the city’s professional baseball teams, who aren’t saying just how many of their players are unvaccinated.

A Yankees team spokesperson said in a statement, "On behalf of the Yankees, [team president] Randy Levine is working with City Hall and all other appropriate officials on this matter. We will have no further comment.”

The Mets declined comment.

There is no change to the city's policy immediately on the horizon. Mayor Eric Adams, in a CNBC interview last month, said it would send the wrong message to make an exception for one player, making reference to Nets superstar Kyrie Irving.

Irving, a vaccine holdout, hasn’t played in any home games this season because of the city’s restrictions. Irving did watch Sunday’s game from the stands inside Barclays Center, just days after Adams lifted the vaccination mandate for indoor dining, fitness and entertainment venues.

The seemingly contradictory polices prompted fellow Nets star Kevin Durant to take a shot at the Mayor. “Everybody out here is looking for attention, and that’s what I feel like the mayor wants right now, is some attention,” Durant said after the game.

Durant later issued a statement attempting to soften his stance. Meanwhile, the NBA hit the Nets with a $50,000 fine for allowing Irving into the locker room, which the league said violated city law and its own protocols. 

Of course, there is one straightforward solution to the controversy, as Adams pointed out on Sunday.

“Kyrie can play tomorrow,” Adams said. “Get vaccinated.”