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Yankees’ Aaron Judge Likely to Miss Wild Card Series
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Yankees’ Aaron Judge Likely to Miss Wild Card Series

Originally posted on Athlon Sports  |  By John Sparaco  |  Last updated Sep 22, 2026 1:24 PM ET
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When the New York Yankees begin postseason play next week, they likely will do so without their captain.

On Tuesday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed that Aaron Judge has a “moderate grade” calf strain and told reporters he does not expect to have him available for the AL Wild Card Series. He added that Judge received a platelet-poor plasma injection in his right calf during Monday’s off day and will avoid physical activity over the next couple of days.

Judge, 34, was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday (retroactive to Thursday). His earliest possible return date would be the final regular-season game against Baltimore on Sept. 27, two days before the Wild Card Series is set to begin.

It has been an injury-riddled season for Judge, who took home the AL MVP Award in three of the last four years. The right-handed slugger missed most of the season with a fractured right rib, believed to have been sustained on April 26 in Houston. He played through the injury for a month before ultimately being shut down at the end of May.

Upon being cleared to resume baseball activities in mid-August, Judge told the Yankees he did not want to go on a minor league rehab assignment. Instead, he took a round of live batting practice, hit off a high-velocity pitching machine and had a coach hit fly balls to him during the ramp-up process before rejoining the lineup on Sept. 8.

Judge played just seven games after being activated, going 4-for-23 (.174) with a home run and 13 strikeouts. In 66 total games this season, he has produced a .241/.360/.511 slash line with 18 homers and 41 RBIs.

Though the Yankees have held onto the AL’s top Wild Card spot in Judge’s absence, their lineup has struggled to put up runs without him. New York’s pitching staff, led by starters Cam Schlittler, Max Fried, Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón, has been the strength of the team. They also enter Tuesday with the second-best bullpen ERA (3.14) in the majors.

Barring any drastic movement in the standings this week, the Yankees will host the Boston Red Sox in the Wild Card Series for the second consecutive year. Heliot Ramos and Spencer Jones are both options to start in right field for New York should Trent Grisham (right hamstring strain) return to play center field.

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This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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