NEW YORK — Aaron Judge is trying to beat another medical timetable with the Yankees already staring at the postseason without him.
The Yankees captain has not played since Sept. 16, when he injured the soleus muscle in his right calf against the Twins. The setback came eight days after he returned from a fractured right rib that had kept him out since May 31.
Judge was activated Sept. 8 without a minor league rehabilitation assignment after 99 days away. He played seven games, went 4-for-23 with one home run and 13 strikeouts, then landed back on the injured list. The Yankees have since described the calf injury as moderate.
New York entered Thursday 91-67, secure as the top American League wild card and on course to host Boston in a best-of-three series beginning Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. Tampa Bay has clinched the AL East.
Judge has ruled himself out for the rest of the regular season. He received a platelet-poor plasma injection Monday and is waiting to progress into baseball activity involving the leg.
The first comeback never reached full speed. Judge struck out in 13 of 23 official at-bats, a 56.5% rate, and hit .174 during his brief return. He has also said that whenever he comes back, he wants to play right field rather than serve only as a designated hitter, raising the physical demands of any accelerated return.
That means the Yankees must judge more than whether his bat is usable. A three-game series could also require him to run the bases, react in the outfield and handle repeated bursts of lower-leg stress.
Boone said Tuesday the Yankees were planning as if Judge would not be available for the Wild Card Series. Judge answered Wednesday with a far more aggressive target.
“That’s what the plan is,” Judge said. “Try to get my body ready so I’m ready to go.”
Judge publicly pushes back on Boone’s wording
The tension became more visible Wednesday when Judge questioned Boone’s decision to call the injury moderate.
“Everybody’s ‘moderate’ is a little different,” Judge said. “I think your moderate is a little different than my moderate, and so on and so on. So I don’t know why he used those words, but I’m trying to come back as soon as I can.”
Judge then backed Boone personally, making the disagreement about the message and timetable.
“Boonie’s my guy, so I always got his back,” Judge replied. “I know he makes the right decisions. Obviously, as a player, you don’t want to hear that, but that’s out of my control. I got a job to do. I gotta come back and be ready to go, and that’s what I’m focused on right now.”
Boone did not move toward Judge’s timetable. Asked whether his expectations had changed, the Yankees manager kept the decision tied to how the calf responds.
“Like I said [Tuesday], I’m not ruling anything out,” Boone said. “We got days away till that. Not that I’m necessarily expecting that one way or the other, but we’re going to listen to the body and see how he heals. If he’s in a position to do that, obviously we’re going to want him.”
First comeback gives Yankees a measurable warning
The earlier seven-game sample gives the Yankees a reason for caution beyond the calendar.
Judge is batting .241 with 18 home runs and 41 RBIs in 66 games. His value is obvious, but the Yankees must decide whether adding him before he can run, hit and defend at game speed would improve the lineup.
Judge has said he wants to return as a right fielder.
“I want to come back and be ready to play the field because I think that gives us the best lineup,” Judge said. “I’m a right fielder. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Klapisch says Yankees already surrendered too much control
That disagreement now carries a sharper warning from veteran Yankees columnist Bob Klapisch.
Klapisch argued that Judge already pushed the Yankees into accelerating his first comeback. He wrote that the captain should have waited another week, completed a brief minor league rehab assignment and allowed the organization to control the timetable.
“The Captain was never himself in a 17-at-bat cameo after coming off the injured list two weeks ago,” he wrote. “He lacked the raw power and timing that have intimidated AL pitchers for years. That’s the price Judge paid for a rushed comeback. I don’t blame him for wanting to help. He hungers for a championship as any leader should. The playoffs were just around the corner. But the issue is whether Judge should’ve sat out the remainder of the regular season and then begun rehab during the wild-card series. That might’ve given him a shot to fully contribute in late October.”
More pointedly, Klapisch said Judge had strong-armed Boone, general manager Brian Cashman and the medical staff. He questioned whether the Yankees should have allowed their captain to dictate the pace of his return and wrote that the decision appears to have backfired.
“Judge did himself no favors by strong-arming his manager Aaron Boone, general manager Brian Cashman and the medical staff,” Klapisch wrote.
He then turned the question back on the Yankees for surrendering control of the timetable.
“It sure looks like it backfired,” Klapisch wrote. “The Yankees’ hierarchy should be asking itself whether Judge should’ve been allowed to dictate the time and pace of his comeback — no matter how well-intentioned it was.”
The sequence does not establish medical causation. Klapisch acknowledged the injuries are separate but argued the rushed process deserves scrutiny.
“But Judge insisted on ramping up now. He was just as determined about skipping a minor-league rehab assignment. Instead, while the Yankees were in Minnesota, Judge ended 100 days of inactivity by progressing from swinging a bat, to taking batting practice, to live batting practice, to his first game — all in four days. In less than a week, Judge strained the soleus muscle of his right calf. I’m no doctor, but it’s hard not to believe the hurried recovery was a contributing factor in Judge’s second injury.
“Judge’s absence will only widen the gap between the Yankees and the Rays. Tuesday’s doubleheader split not only clinched the AL East for Tampa Bay, but it served as a preview of what the division series will look like if the Yankees get past Boston.”
There is no public medical evidence proving the shortened ramp caused the calf strain. What is established is that Judge skipped a rehab assignment, returned after more than three months out and suffered another injury after seven games.
Yankees face the decision says they mishandled it once
The Yankees still control the postseason roster. Judge can state his target, but Boone, Cashman and the medical staff must decide whether he has cleared enough baseball-specific tests to justify activation.
Klapisch’s larger point is whether the Yankees will again let Judge’s urgency shape a medical and roster decision with October at stake. He credited the captain’s desire to help, but argued the organization should have protected the process the first time.
As of Thursday, Boone had not ruled Judge out, Judge had not backed away from Game 1, and the Yankees had not announced that he had resumed running or live hitting. The next few days will show whether New York holds its cautious line or again accelerates the timetable.
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