Aaron Judge’s push to return for the postseason will have to wait at least one more round as the New York Yankees prepare to face the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Division Series.
The Yankees officially left Judge off their 26-man roster for the ALDS on Saturday as the three-time AL MVP continues recovering from a right calf strain.
This marks the second consecutive playoff series Judge will miss after New York swept the Boston Red Sox without him in the Wild Card Series.
Judge has not played since leaving a Sept. 16 loss to Minnesota with the injury. The Yankees placed him on the injured list three days later, retroactive to Sept. 17.
According to The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty, Judge took live batting practice and ran Friday at the Yankees’ spring training complex before taking batting practice at Tropicana Field.
Judge, however, couldn’t run the bases as of Friday and had not been seen working in the outfield, prompting the Yankees to make the final decision to leave him out of their ALDS roster.
The Yankess must have considered the consequences of rostering Judge, as if New York had placed him on the roster and later removed him because of the injury, MLB rules would have made him ineligible for the ALCS.
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Tropicana Field’s artificial turf also factored “a little bit” into the Yankees’ decision-making, according to manager Aaron Boone, per ESPN.
The Yankees made one change from their Wild Card roster, adding left-hander Ryan Weathers and removing utilityman Amed Rosario. Weathers has not pitched since Aug. 22 because of a forearm flexor strain.
The Yankees open the ALDS against the Rays on Saturday at Tropicana Field, with Game 1 scheduled for 6:38 p.m. ET.
