Aaron Judge left the Yankees with nine regular-season games to play and a short runway toward October, landing on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a strained right calf. The club’s captain said the goal remains a return for the postseason, though neither he nor manager Aaron Boone offered a timetable.
The result
Judge’s placement was made retroactive to Thursday, making Sept. 29 against the Orioles the first day he can be activated. The Yankees recalled infielder-outfielder Max Schuemann from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to fill the roster spot.
The injury is in Judge’s soleus muscle, a calf-area muscle that matters particularly in the running and hitting parts of the game. Judge said he had not yet been told the grade of the strain, while Boone declined to identify it as well.
“I want to be back for the postseason,” Judge said, calling that the plan. With the 10-day clock running through what could be the final regular-season game, he said there were no firm answers yet on when he would be available.
Judge intends to keep throwing and working out while the calf heals, hoping to be ready to rejoin the lineup without much delay once he is cleared. Boone put the situation plainly: with only nine games remaining, the Yankees will either get him back before the season ends or they will not.
The American League Wild Card Series is scheduled to open Sept. 29. As the standings presently line up, the Yankees would host the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.
How the calf tightened up
Judge first felt lower-right-leg stiffness in the opening inning Wednesday at Target Field. He remained in the game until the sixth, when he was removed for a pinch-hitter in the Yankees’ 5-4 loss to the Twins in 13 innings.
He said calf discomfort has been a regular part of his seasons and usually has not cost him games. This episode, however, became more serious after something grabbed in an unfamiliar spot. Judge has played through strains before, but said this location made it harder to do so.
A mild calf strain can still require two to three weeks of recovery, adding uncertainty to Judge’s effort to return in time for the postseason.
A season interrupted twice
Judge, the reigning American League MVP, has played only 66 games this season. He is batting .241 with a .360 on-base percentage and .511 slugging percentage, along with 18 home runs and 41 RBIs.
He missed most of the summer because of a fractured right rib, an injury believed to have occurred April 26 in Houston. Judge continued playing before the Yankees placed him on the injured list following their May 31 game against the Athletics in West Sacramento.
When he was cleared for baseball activity after several months out, Judge told the Yankees he did not want a Minor League rehabilitation assignment. The club honored that request and activated him Sept. 8 for the Rockies series.
Judge appeared in six games after returning, going 4-for-23 with one home run. He said he would not reconsider the decision to skip a rehab stint, noting that an injury during a Minor League game would have been even more aggravating.
The frustration is clear, but so is the target. Judge came back hoping to get enough regular-season at-bats before October. The new calf issue has altered that plan, not the larger objective: be ready when the postseason begins.
