PHOENIX — The Yankees showed what winning without Aaron Judge can look like.
New York jumped on the Arizona Diamondbacks for five runs in the first inning Friday at Chase Field, then cruised to a 9-2 victory. It pushed the Yankees to 89-64 and cut their deficit behind Tampa Bay to four games in the AL East and kept pressure on the Rays before next week’s four-game series at Yankee Stadium.
But the night also carried a much heavier October question. Judge was not in the lineup, not available during pregame clubhouse access and no longer using the final week of the regular season simply to sharpen his timing. Seven games into his return from a 99-day absence caused by a stress fracture in his first right rib, the Yankees captain again became the center of the club’s postseason uncertainty.
That timing matters because Judge had barely begun to rebuild his swing. He went 4-for-23 with one home run and 13 strikeouts after returning Sept. 8. The Yankees had eased him back with shortened games, a designated-hitter day and rest, trying to balance the urgency of September with the reality that he had missed 84 games.
The Yankees have already clinched a postseason berth, but their likely path starts with the AL Wild Card Series on Sept. 29. Judge’s final regular-season runway had been supposed to include Arizona, a direct four-game test against Tampa Bay and the closing series against Baltimore. Instead, the Yankees entered the weekend with no public answer about when their best hitter might play again.
Boone’s eight-word pattern becomes the story
The Yankees then confirmed the Aaron Judge development driving the uncertainty. The captain was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a right calf strain, retroactive to Thursday. His earliest possible activation is Sept. 27, but Aaron Boone offered no timetable or grade after an MRI confirmed the injury.
During his Friday media session, Boone used the phrase “I don’t know” eight times while answering questions about the strain, treatment, return timetable and postseason availability. Asked directly whether the Yankees expect Judge back for October, Boone gave the same answer.
“I don’t know,” Boone said.
Boone would not attach a target date to Judge’s recovery or predict whether he can be ready when the postseason begins.
“I don’t have a timeline on him,” Boone said. “I’m not going to predict anything. We’ll just obviously treat it and see what transpires.”
Treatment did not bring enough improvement
Judge first felt tightness while playing right field in the first inning Wednesday at Minnesota. He stayed in the game before Heliot Ramos pinch-hit for him in the sixth. Judge said afterward that he tried to continue because the games mattered.
“I didn’t think it was smart to push it too much here,” Judge said.
Treatment Thursday did not bring enough improvement, prompting more testing. The MRI revealed the strain. Judge will continue treatment, and a platelet-rich plasma injection is among the options after the Yankees return to New York.
Boone also said he did not second-guess Judge skipping a minor league rehab assignment after the rib injury. The Yankees had limited his innings and mixed in rest.
“These things happen with a rehab assignment or without one. We did everything we could to try and give him and ourselves the best chance for it to be a good outcome,” Boone said.
A winning record without Judge masks offensive cost
The Yankees have survived without Judge in the standings, but the split needs context. New York was 41-25 when Judge started through Wednesday and 47-39 when he did not. Friday’s win moved the Yankees to 48-39 without him, compared with 41-25 in his starts.
From June 2 through Sept. 7, the Yankees ranked 29th in the majors with a 90 wRC+ and a .227 batting average, while their .681 OPS ranked 27th. Pitching helped keep the season stable while the lineup absorbed Judge’s long absence.
Judge is batting .241/.360/.511 with 18 home runs and 41 RBIs in 66 games. The three-time AL MVP also dealt with a right calf strain in 2020, but the Yankees have given no indication that the current injury carries the same severity or timetable.
October remains an unanswered question
Max Schuemann is expected to be recalled from Triple-A on Saturday. The Yankees will mix their outfield options while Judge receives treatment, and he will miss the four-game Rays series.
Cody Bellinger said the lineup cannot afford to press as it did during Judge’s earlier absence. The remaining hitters still carry the same expectations.
“We’re going to have to find a way,” Bellinger said. “I think the talent in this locker room speaks for itself, and I’m fully confident that we have enough talent in here that can go out and win and beat anybody.”
Judge can become eligible Sept. 27, two days before the Wild Card Series, but eligibility is not readiness. Until the calf responds and the Yankees establish a baseball progression, Boone’s repeated answer remains the clearest description of Judge’s October status: they do not know.
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