Yankees unsure if Aaron Judge will be on roster for wild-card series vs. Red Sox

NEW YORK – The  New York Yankees are still not sure if right fielder Aaron Judge will be on the roster for the American League Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox.

Judge, who is dealing with a right calf strain, is doing baseball activities like taking swings in the batting cage and throwing the baseball, but he has yet to run the bases. Thus far, Judge has been limited to running on an AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill, which checks on his running mechanics. He hasn’t experienced any problems so far, but he didn’t sound like a guy who was going to be in the starting lineup on Tuesday night. 

“I think about a lot of things. I don’t make those (roster) decisions, so we’ll see how today goes. I’ll have a better answer (at the end of workouts),” Judge told reporters.  "As a player, I have to do my work and see what I can do. … I’m going to see how today goes and give them all the input I can. I think they are going to use their eyes and see what’s probably best.”   

It’s not known how Judge hurt the calf.  He last played on Sept. 16 against the Twins in Minnesota. Manager Aaron Boone said Judge was going to the outfield to play defense that day, and that's when the calf tightened up on him. Boone called the strain moderate.  

This is Judge’s second time on the IL. He missed more than two months of this season because of a stress fracture in his right rib. For the season, Judge has played in 66 games and is slashing .241/.360/.511 with 18 home runs and 41 RBIs. 

Despite his long absence, Judge said the Yankees have picked up the slack. After all, they won 93 games.

“We have a great ballclub,” Judge said. “I’ve been out for most of the year.  A lot of young guys that we have called up have stepped right in and filled some huge holes, especially with me and  G (Giancarlo Stanton) down. We missed Belli (Cody Bellinger) for a time, Gerrit (Cole) and Rowdy (Carlos Rodón) during the beginning of the year. The boys are going to be fine no matter what, but I would love to be in the trenches with them.”   

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.