The Yankees are heading into October with a major hole, and Aaron Judge is not expected to fill it in the Wild Card Series.
Before Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays, manager Aaron Boone told reporters the club is not preparing to have Judge available for the opening round of the postseason. According to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, Boone made it plain: "We're not planning on him being a part of that," Boone told Kirschner and reporters about Judge's availability for the AL Wild Card.
That leaves New York without its best player for the first playoff series of the year, with Judge’s calf strain now pushing his return at least to the ALDS or later. The Yankees have already spent much of the 2026 season without him, as he missed a long stretch from the start of June until late August before returning briefly and then going back on the IL with the calf issue.
The timing couldn’t be worse. The Wild Card opponent is likely to be the Boston Red Sox, with the Tampa Bay Rays close to locking up the AL East and the Yankees and Red Sox positioned well ahead of the third Wild Card spot. That makes a home series against Boston the most likely path, but it’s one New York may have to navigate without Judge.
There is some good news in the mix for the Yankees. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is coming back, and Cam Schlittler is expected to be on the mound in what the team hopes will be a huge spot. But Judge’s absence changes everything about how the series looks and how much margin for error New York has.
It also adds another layer of uncertainty to Judge’s postseason outlook. He struggled some after returning from his earlier IL stint, and now the calf strain has put him back on the shelf with no firm timeline beyond the Wild Card round. For now, the Yankees are planning for life without him, and that could extend well beyond the first round.
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Jarrett Allen's Cavaliers Role Suddenly Feels Far Less Secure
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Jarrett Allen remains one of the clearest examples of why the Cavaliers have to keep their big men engaged on offense, even as the lineup starts to shift around him. His best stretches last season came when he played alongside James Harden, and Cleveland will need to find ways to preserve that kind of involvement if it wants to get the most out of Allen while also making room for Watson and the rest of the rotation. [Read more 🡒]