Aaron Judge nearly talked his way onto the Yankees’ ALDS roster, but Aaron Boone spent an hour weighing the options and came down on the side of patience.
Judge had pushed hard to be activated for the Division Series against the Rays. He had already been hitting, running and throwing, and said his right calf felt good more than two weeks after a Grade 2 sprain that usually carries a six- to eight-week recovery window. On Friday, he tried to make one last case with two workouts - first live BP at the Yankees player development complex in Tampa, then hitting and running during the team workout at Tropicana Field.
Boone still held the final call, and after meeting with Judge and Mike Schuk, the Yankees director of sports medicine & rehabilitation, he told them he needed time.
“We just kind of worked through it and I told him I was going to think on it for an hour and make a decision.”
That hour led Boone to a firm no.
He ultimately chose to keep left-hander Ryan Weathers as an 11th pitcher, one more than the Yankees carried in their Wild Card Series sweep of the Red Sox. He also left Amed Rosario off the roster and kept Giancarlo Stanton in his pinch-hitting role. Judge, for now, stays out.
How close did it get?
“Close,” Boone said before Saturday night’s series opener at Tropicana Field. “He’s had a good couple weeks where I feel like he’s moving in a good direction and doing some good things.”
Boone said the issue wasn’t Judge’s calf so much as everything else that comes with game readiness. Judge has not run the bases since going on the IL on Sept. 19, and Boone kept coming back to the same concern: whether Judge could handle the workload of a playoff game, or even a full night of being available.
“I think he looks good,” he said. “I’ve been pleased with his BPs, his live BPs the last couple of days.
But the reality is he just hasn’t run a lot yet or started to move a lot, and it’s one thing to be able to go out there and manage and get through (a workout). It’s another thing like to do it for three hours.
“So I just feel like that volume part would have been just a real challenge. And if we kept them on as like in Giancarlo’s role, in that pinch hitting role, I feel like that would have stripped away the ability to have some really good days and be in a better position five, seven, nine days from now.”
Boone said he even thought through the possibility of carrying Judge just to pinch-hit, but decided that was still a little early.
“We talked about that, but I just felt like we probably needed a little more time for that to be a realistic thing,” he said.
He also made clear the decision wasn’t about the turf at Tropicana Field or about comparing Judge to Stanton.
“If we were at home, he wouldn’t be playing right now,” Boone said. “The turf always factors in, but it wasn’t in the immediate right now anyway because if he would have been on, it would have been in a pinch-hitting role only. So not in that regard.”
And on the Stanton point, Boone said the two choices were handled separately.
“No, they were kind of separate decisions for me,” he said. “I don’t necessarily think we would have both of them on (the roster), but my decision with Aaron was just based on Aaron and trying to do what I thought was right for him and for us in that regard.”
In Other News...
Ben Rice Suddenly Carries A Yankees Problem He Still Hasn't Solved
The Yankees opened their American League Division Series with a night that offered little room for optimism, and Ben Rice was right in the middle of it. Tampa Bays Drew Rasmussen carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning of a 1-0 Rays win, while New York was held to one hit, the fewest in the clubs postseason history, and Gerrit Cole took the loss in a game that quickly turned into a grind.
Rice, who has been an important part of the Yankees offense, could not find any traction against Rasmussen, finishing 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. For a lineup that already looked out of sync, his struggles underscored just how tough the matchup was, and how much pressure now sits on New Yorks bats to answer before this series gets any deeper. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Lineup Just Faced A Game 1 Problem That Changes Everything
The Yankees opened the ALDS facing exactly the kind of problem October can turn into a series-defining headache. Tampa Bay took Game 1 behind Drew Rasmussen, who worked eight dominant innings, scattered one hit and struck out 10, while Jonathan Arandas home run supplied the only run the Rays needed. Bryan Baker closed it out, leaving New York with an immediate uphill climb in a series where every early inning matters.
For the Yankees, the concern is less about one loss than the way the game was lost. Rasmussen controlled the lineup from start to finish, and the Rays paired that kind of pitching with just enough offense to put New York in chase mode right away. In a short series, a night like this can change the feel of everything, especially when the opponent has already shown it can win with one swing and a lockdown bullpen finish. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Have A Matt Blake Decision Fans Should Be Watching
Matt Blakes future is one of the quieter Yankees storylines worth watching as the season winds down. The pitching coach has been in the role since 2020, and the club has already exercised its option for 2026, a sign the organization wants to keep the current structure in place after years of stability on the mound.
The bigger question is what comes after that, because the Yankees are reportedly looking to retain Blake beyond next season as well. With this years staff producing strong results and both the rotation and bullpen ranking among the best in the league, Blake has built the kind of track record that usually leads to a longer stay, even if the final call still has to get sorted out. [Read more 🡒]