Aaron Judge spent Friday doing the rehab grind in Bridgewater, then came back to the Bronx and watched the Yankees finish off the Red Sox without him. By the end of the night, he was in the middle of the clubhouse celebration after New York completed a two-game Wild Card Series sweep and earned a Division Series matchup with the Rays.
The question hanging over the Yankees now is whether Judge will be in uniform for that one.
“We just finished the Wild Card,” Judge said in the middle of a clubhouse celebration. “We’ll get into that as we get close.
I got nothing for you yet, but I have an opportunity to get ready. That’s what I’ve been doing every day.”
Judge has a Grade 2 calf sprain, and those injuries usually come with a six-to-eight-week recovery window. He’s trying to beat that timeline by a wide margin. For now, he says the signs are encouraging.
“I’m feeling good,” he said.
The captain’s day included live batting practice, running and throwing during his workout at the Somerset Patriots ballpark. What he still has not done is run the bases, which remains the key checkpoint before the Yankees can seriously count on him for the weekend.
Judge said he cleared that same hurdle three days before returning last month after missing 84 games with a fractured rib. If the Yankees want that kind of runway again, he’ll need to be cleared Thursday, the off day for everyone except players in rehab.
There’s also the venue to consider. The Rays’ Tropicana Field is domed, and the hard turf there makes Judge’s calf a bigger concern. A setback on that surface would be a real risk.
The roster math isn’t especially friendly either. DH duty belongs to Ben Rice, and the Yankees probably won’t have the same flexibility they used in the Red Sox series.
Giancarlo Stanton was active for the Wild Card round because New York carried only 10 pitchers. For last year’s ALDS against the Blue Jays, the Yankees used 11 pitchers, and they’re expected to do that again.
If that happens, Stanton would likely move to the taxi squad, which could push Judge’s return back another round.
If the Yankees keep going and reach the ALCS, the surface issue disappears. They would play on grass the rest of that series no matter whether the White Sox or Guardians survive their own best-of-seven matchup.
“Going into this series, obviously I want to be out there with them,” Judge said.
Even while sidelined, Judge stayed locked into the Red Sox series and clearly felt the satisfaction of watching the Yankees advance without needing him on the field.
“I’m a baseball player,” Judge said. “I want to play. But when the Yankees win, we all win.”
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