PHOENIX — The injury board in the Yankees clubhouse tells two stories at once. One side is emptying. The other just got heavier. On the same weekend two regulars edged toward returning, the team learned it would finish the regular season without its captain.
For a Yankees club chasing a division title and bracing for October, the timing cuts both ways. Reinforcements are coming for the infield and the outfield. A cornerstone and a rotation piece are not.
Chisholm and Grisham near returns
The relief comes on the position-player side. Jazz Chisholm Jr., out since Sept. 10 with a sprained right thumb, will rejoin the club during the homestand that opens Tuesday against the Rays. Boone said Chisholm had hit four days in a row and had resumed throwing.
Chisholm was surging when he got hurt, hitting .375 with a .464 on-base percentage and a home run over his final seven games. His return hands the Yankees their everyday second baseman back at the most important moment of the schedule.
“We’ll see what our needs are and how he looks, and if we feel like he’s ready to come in and be a contributor,” Boone said.
Grisham is close behind. The center fielder has been out since Sept. 5 with a Grade 2 right hamstring strain, and Boone said he is well into his running progression. A return before the end of the regular season is now in play for the Yankees.
Judge shut down with a calf strain
The headline blow is Aaron Judge. The three-time AL MVP is going on the 10-day injured list with a right calf strain, a move the Yankees made official Saturday but backdated to Thursday. That leaves the regular-season finale on Sept. 27 as his earliest possible return.
Judge was pulled from Wednesday’s 13-inning loss in Minnesota with tightness in his lower right leg, which he said began in the first inning. An MRI on Thursday in Phoenix confirmed the strain. Boone declined to give a severity grade or a timeline, and would not commit to a postseason return.
Asked directly whether Judge would be back for the playoffs, Boone kept it short.
“I don’t know,” Boone said. “I don’t have a timeline on him. He’s on the IL now. I’m not going to predict anything. He’s getting treated and we’ll see what transpires.”
The absence stings less than it once would have. The Yankees are 48-39 in games Judge has missed this season and 41-25 when he plays. Even so, Boone framed the loss plainly.
“There’s no replacing a player who is as great as Aaron Judge, but we have high expectations,” Boone said. “Those don’t change now.”
Weathers runs out of runway
The quieter setback belongs to Ryan Weathers. The left-hander has been on the injured list since Aug. 23 with a left forearm flexor strain, and Boone conceded Friday that he is unlikely to pitch in a game before the season ends.
That closes the door on a regular-season return for a pitcher who had quietly become one of the Yankees’ most reliable arms. Weathers went 5-8 with a 3.60 ERA over a career-high 25 starts, and posted a 2.27 ERA across his final seven outings before the injury.
He is not finished for the year outright. Weathers was set to throw a second bullpen session Saturday, with live batting practice as the next step. A postseason bullpen role remains possible if his buildup accelerates, though the Yankees will wait to judge his progress.
The stat that reframes the outfield picture
Trent Grisham’s path back looked blocked before Judge got hurt, because rookie Spencer Jones seized the opening. Jones has hit .361 with a .425 on-base percentage and a .528 slugging mark in 10 games since taking over in center.
Judge’s absence changes that math. There is now room for both. Grisham could slot back into center against right-handers, pushing Jones to right field, where Judge would otherwise stand. One injury quietly created a lineup lane that did not exist a week ago.
Infielder-outfielder Max Schuemann traveled to Phoenix to join the Yankees for Saturday’s game, adding depth while the lineup sorts itself out.
A four-game series against the Rays begins Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, including a doubleheader, and could decide the division. The Yankees will enter it without Judge and Weathers, but likely with Chisholm and perhaps Grisham back in the fold.
For now, the picture is half bright, half bleak. Two players are walking back through the clubhouse door. Two others are watching the calendar, hoping there is still time to matter in October.
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