New York Yankees star Aaron Judge has been announced as the cover athlete for MLB The Show 26,San Diego Studios announced on Tuesday.
Judge, who was previously the cover athlete for the game's 2018 version, followslast year's cover athletesin Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes, Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz and Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson.
3X AL MVP ✅ ️2X#MLBTheShowcover athlete ✅Welcome back, Aaron Judge!@TheJudge44@Yankees@Yankees_Beisbolpic.twitter.com/2l0kOAt7Nu
— MLB The Show (@MLBTheShow)January 27, 2026
On Monday,SDS put out a statement that the 2026 gamewould not feature a "new cover athlete," leading to speculation about whether a current or former MLB player would even grace the front of the video game.
In the SDS promotional materials, Judge is featured in both his Yankees uniform and also Team USA gear. The World Baseball Classic will be part of Diamond Dynasty mode in MLB The Show 26 after first beingpart of the game in 2023.
MLB The Show 26 will be released March 17 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2.
