The Yankees are heading into the postseason without Aaron Judge in the mix for the Wild Card round, and that’s the hard reality Aaron Boone laid out Tuesday before the doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Boone told reporters, “We're not planning on him being a part of that,” when asked about Judge’s availability for the AL Wild Card series, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. If Judge does make it back, Boone indicated that return would come in the ALDS or later.
That leaves New York in a tough spot after Judge’s latest setback. He had already missed a long stretch from the start of June until late August, and his brief return ended when a calf strain sent him back to the injured list. Now the Yankees are facing the possibility of moving deeper into October without their best player.
The timing points toward a Wild Card matchup that likely comes against the Boston Red Sox, with the Tampa Bay Rays on the verge of taking the AL East and the third Wild Card spot sitting well behind New York and Boston. That would make the series a home one for the Yankees against a division rival, but they’ll have to navigate it without Judge.
There is some good news on the roster front. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is coming back, and the Yankees are set to have the likely Cy Young winner on the mound in Cam Schlittler. Still, none of that changes the biggest absence on the board.
Judge’s return from the first injured-list stint wasn’t exactly seamless, either. He struggled a bit after coming back, and now a new injury has complicated everything again. Even if he does get back later in the postseason, the question won’t just be whether he’s available - it’ll be what kind of production the Yankees can reasonably expect from him.
For now, the picture is clear: Judge is out for the Wild Card round, and the Yankees will have to try to push forward without him while the rest of his postseason timeline remains uncertain.
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