Aaron Judge was everywhere around the Yankees on Tuesday night except where it mattered most: in the lineup, on the roster, and, for one strange pregame moment, even in the introductions.
The Yankees captain had been grinding through the final stages of recovery from a right calf injury, with live batting practice, throwing and on-field work all pointing toward progress. But progress wasn’t enough for Aaron Boone and the club’s medical staff, who decided Judge still couldn’t handle the full demands of a postseason game. That kept the three-time AL MVP off New York’s 26-man Wild Card Series roster.
Judge had spent Monday trying to convince the Yankees he was ready. After taking live batting practice, he said, “I’ve been doing a lot of convincing, I feel like, so I’m going to keep doing that,”
Boone’s explanation was straightforward. Judge had cleared important hurdles just to get to that point, but the manager still didn’t believe he was ready for what the Yankees needed from him.
“I just felt like it wasn’t quite ready to be what he needs to be for us,” Boone said.
The baseball part of the decision made sense on paper. Judge missed 84 games with a fractured right rib, returned in September without a minor league rehab assignment and played only seven games before the calf strain sidelined him again. He finished the regular season at .241/.360/.511 with 18 home runs in 66 games, and the Yankees went 93-68 to claim the top AL wild-card spot.
What happened before Game 1 against the Red Sox was harder to explain.
During the postseason pregame introductions, Judge wasn’t announced with the rest of the Yankees. That stood out because other inactive Yankees were introduced even though they were also not on the Wild Card roster. MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch flagged the scene while both clubs were lined up on the baselines.
“Red Sox and Yankees are on the baseline. Odd that Aaron Judge wasn’t introduced. Other inactive members of the team were,” Hoch wrote.
Judge was later spotted in the Yankees dugout, and as of Wednesday morning the team still had not offered a public explanation for why he was left out of the ceremony.
That’s where the optics got messy. His roster absence had a clear injury-related reason.
The introduction omission didn’t. Since other inactive players were included, roster status alone didn’t account for why No. 99 was missing.
Boone said the Yankees made their roster call after an “honest conversation” involving Judge and members of the training staff following Monday’s live batting-practice session. Judge then continued working Tuesday, throwing on the field and running in the outfield before Game 1. Boone also made clear that the captain was still contributing inside the clubhouse.
“He is the guy in the room, and guys look to him. Him being around and a sounding board and being front and center is important. He brings a lot to the table outside the lines too,” Boone said.
That role didn’t disappear just because Judge couldn’t play. He was still in meetings, still around the team and still part of the conversation. But his absence from the roster and from the introductions only sharpened the attention on him at a moment when the Yankees were trying to move forward.
Then the game itself turned into a blowout. New York beat Boston 9-0 in Game 1 behind Cam Schlittler’s 6 1/3 scoreless innings and Ben Rice’s two homers, including an eighth-inning grand slam. Payton Tolle took the loss, and no save was needed.
With that win, the Yankees moved to within one victory of the ALDS, where Judge could be reconsidered if New York advances. Boone hasn’t put a timeline on a return, saying the club is still watching whether Judge can run, change direction and handle the movements required in right field.
“Hopefully we’re able to advance. These are valuable days as he gets closer to being a real option for us and hopefully be a part of it at some point moving forward,” Boone said.
For now, Judge remains in a strange middle ground: visible around the Yankees, active in team life, but absent from the postseason roster and, at least once on Tuesday, absent from the stage entirely.
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