Aaron Judge remains without a clear path back to game action just two days before the New York Yankees open the American League wild-card series against the Boston Red Sox, with the three-time MVP still limited to rehab work rather than baseball drills as of Sunday morning.
Judge is nursing a calf strain that has kept him to rehab exercises, plyometrics and treadmill work. Manager Aaron Boone, speaking in the rain at Yankee Stadium, described the slugger’s activity bluntly: “So not a whole lot yet.”
It is not yet known whether Judge will need to take part in baseball-specific activities, such as hitting and running, before the Yankees are comfortable putting him on the wild-card roster. Boone said the team is waiting until the deadline to decide.
“Look, it’s Sunday. We’ll get to Tuesday morning when we have to enter our [roster]. We’ll just see what we have, and along with the trainers and medical, we’ll make a decision.”
Boone had said earlier in the week that the Yankees were not planning to include Judge on the wild-card roster, while leaving open the possibility that he could still play. Judge himself was reportedly unhappy with that plan and has said he intends to make himself available for the series.
Asked whether the team might carry Judge even if he isn’t ready for Tuesday’s opener but could return later in the series, Boone said he had not yet discussed that scenario with the training staff. “We’ll have those when we make the decision,” he said. “Those kind of things will be considered.”
Other Players Returning From Injury
Judge is not the only Yankee whose health is in question as the team finalizes its 26-man roster for the series against Boston. Giancarlo Stanton, Trent Grisham and Ryan Weathers are all working their way back from injuries of their own.
Stanton, who has been sidelined for five months with three separate calf strains, would likely serve as a pinch hitter if included. Grisham, out since early September with a hamstring strain, could start in center field against Boston right-hander Sonny Gray, a move that would shift Spencer Jones to right field and bench Heliot Ramos. Weathers, recovering from a left forearm flexor strain, would work as a one-inning reliever, giving the Yankees a power left-hander they otherwise lack in the bullpen.
“Physically I’m ready to go,” Grisham said Sunday morning.
Weathers, who threw a 15-pitch live batting practice session Friday against Grisham and Stanton, echoed that sentiment. “I feel super healthy, so we’ll see how it shakes out,” he said.
Boone said Weathers is “very much in play for this round,” adding that the team expects to finalize its decision on him Monday. “I like where he’s at,” Boone said. “I think he feels really healthy, looks really healthy.”
Stanton has continued hitting throughout his extended absence, but Boone said the team is relying heavily on the veteran’s own read of his readiness. “I feel like nobody knows themselves and their body as well as Big G does,” Boone said. “He’s always honest and he’s always real transparent about where he’s at. Also, you know the track record of success and trusting him in really difficult, tough spots to put an at-bat together. So we’ll see here and make those decisions sometime [Monday] probably.”
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