Yankees plan for the Wild Card without Aaron Judge after calf strain
Aaron Judge is on the injured list with a moderate right calf strain, his second significant injury of the season, and Aaron Boone says the Yankees are planning on being without him for a potential Wild Card series.
The New York Yankees are preparing for October without Aaron Judge. The slugger is on the 10-day injured list with a right calf strain, per ESPN, and manager Aaron Boone said on 22 September that Judge "most likely won't be available" for a potential American League Wild Card series next week. "We're planning on him not being a part of that," Boone said, per ESPN.
What the injury is
Judge was placed on the injured list, retroactive to Thursday, with a strain of the right soleus, one of the muscles of the calf, after an MRI in Phoenix, per ESPN. Sports Illustrated reports that the strain is "moderate", a grade that typically takes two to six weeks to heal, and that Judge has had a platelet-rich plasma injection to help it recover.
That range matters. At the short end, two weeks from the strain would bring Judge back around the start of October; at the long end, six weeks would run towards the end of the month. Boone's comments suggest the Yankees are working to the cautious end of that window for the first round at least.
A second major injury in one season
This is the second time this season that Judge has been lost for a long spell. He missed most of the summer with a fractured right rib, believed to have been sustained on 26 April in Houston, and had only returned to action in early September, per ESPN.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 26 April | Fractured right rib, believed sustained in Houston |
| Summer | Misses most of the summer |
| Early September | Returns to action |
| Thursday (retroactive) | Right soleus (calf) strain after an MRI in Phoenix; 10-day injured list |
| 22 September | Boone: Judge "most likely won't be available" for the Wild Card |
| Recovery window | Two to six weeks for a moderate strain (Sports Illustrated) |
After a rib injury that took most of the summer, the calf strain means Judge's return lasted only a few weeks before he was sidelined again.
The final week and the Rays
The timing is poor. The injury comes in the last week of the regular season, with playoff positioning still being decided, Sports Illustrated notes.
That week has already been a bruising one. On 22 September the Yankees lost 6-1 to the Tampa Bay Rays in the second game of a doubleheader, a result that clinched the AL East for Tampa Bay, per ESPN. Rays starter Drew Rasmussen held the Yankees to one hit over 6⅔ innings and struck out 11, per ESPN. The Rays finished that night at 96-61 and with the American League's No. 1 seed, per ESPN.
| 22 September, game two | Figure |
|---|---|
| Result | Rays 6, Yankees 1 |
| Yankees hits | 1 off Rasmussen in 6⅔ innings |
| Rasmussen strikeouts | 11 |
| What it decided | Rays clinch the AL East and the AL's No. 1 seed |
What it means for October
With the division gone, the Yankees' hopes of a deep October run rest on the Wild Card, and Boone has been clear that he does not expect his best-known hitter to be part of it. That puts the onus on the rest of the lineup for the first round, and on Judge's recovery for anything beyond it.
The questions now are practical ones. How the calf responds to treatment will shape whether Judge can return if the Yankees advance past the Wild Card round. Boone's language leaves that door open without promising anything, and after a season interrupted twice by injury, the Yankees are planning for the version of October in which Judge is not there at the start.