The New York Yankees will be without the services of powerhouse Aaron Judge for the AL Divisional Series matchup with the Tampa Bay Rays, as his name was left off the club’s 26-player roster announced this Saturday.
“I determined that omitting him from the roster was the correct choice,” remarked Yankees skipper Aaron Boone to the media shortly before the opening matchup. “Although I believe he is nearing a return, having this week to focus on his recovery is crucial if we hope to have him back at full strength to help us chase a championship.”
Boone further explained that while the star outfielder was nearly ready and could have potentially served in a pinch-hitting capacity, the organization prioritized giving him more time to heal completely over rushing him back.
An ongoing moderate calf strain kept Judge sidelined during the Yankees’ sweep of the Boston Red Sox in the AL wild-card matchup. Following his placement on the injured list on September 18, Boone had indicated just four days later that the squad was preparing to navigate the initial postseason round without him.
“In the weeks following the injury, we believe he has shown genuine progress and notable recovery,” Boone stated on Wednesday. “Our hope is that we will be able to reassess and make a different choice in just a few days.”
Judge participated in live batting practice at Yankee Stadium on Monday, followed by additional live plate appearances with Somerset, the franchise’s Double-A club, on Wednesday. He mentioned to journalists that his training had been restricted to a specialized rehabilitation anti-gravity treadmill before he finally progressed to running on the grass at Yankee Stadium prior to the first game against Boston.
The artificial playing surface at Tropicana Field was also a factor in the deliberations, a detail that Boone acknowledged influenced their ultimate course of action.
“It certainly factored in slightly,” Boone remarked on Friday, as reported by the Associated Press. “However, we are primarily focusing on the timeline. We are trying to determine if he might be ready to contribute at any stage during this matchup. That is the main question we are evaluating, especially after observing how he responded to the live batting practice over the past several days.”
The Yankees are heading south to Tampa, where the Rays will host the first two contests on Saturday and Monday. The venue then switches to Yankee Stadium for the third matchup on Wednesday, followed by a potential fourth game on Thursday. If the matchup goes the distance, a decisive fifth game is scheduled back at Tropicana Field on Saturday, October 10.
