After a season plagued by injuries, Yankees star outfielder Aaron Judge is back on the sidelines. Manager Aaron Boone spoke to reporters on Monday and revealed that Judge is not expected to be available for the American League Wild Card Series. Judge is dealing with a moderate grade calf strain and received a PRP injection on Sunday.
"We’re planning on him not being a part of that but we’re also at the time of the year, you hear all the time with injuries, you give ranges two to four weeks, four to six weeks," Boone said. "The range is for a reason and we’re at a point of the year where obviously we push it a little bit if that was in play but that’s a week away. I’m not expecting it, but I’m not ruling it out either." Judge was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday after straining his right calf during a game against the Minnesota Twins.
With Judge sidelined again, the Yankees face a tough battle as they continue to chase the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East. The Yankees are still six games behind the Rays in the division, but hold firm control over the top wild-card spot. Not only is Judge dealing with a calf injury, but he’s already missed significant time this season after suffering a stress fracture in his ribs.
He lost more than three months to that setback, and now he’s expected to miss even more time with his latest injury. Injuries have repeatedly threatened to derail Judge's career, but when healthy, he is standard-setting. His three MVP awards since 2022 prove he's still one of the most dominant forces in baseball.
When Judge is on the field, he is arguably one of the sport's most impactful players with a career wins above replacement (WAR) of 63.5. Without him available in the Wild Card round, the Yankees will face a steep uphill climb: New York is currently projected to face the Red Sox in the first round of the postseason. The Yankees have the second-best record in the AL, Boston the third-best after a midseason surge that earned interim manager Chad Tracy a promotion.
"We’ve played much of the year without [Judge] and for the most part, we’ve done a pretty good job," Boone said. "So guys are used to it. Obviously you always want your best player in the mix, but we understand we’ve got a job to do and an expectation to win.
I think that expectation doesn’t change with or without him. We’re expecting to go into the series and know we can beat anyone when we play our game."
