It doesn't look like the New York Yankees will have Aaron Judge back for the playoffs.
New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge has maintained that he is hoping to return for the MLB playoffs, but it doesn't look like that will be realistic.
Aaron Boone provided and update on Judge before their final regular-season game against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, and he said that the three-time MVP is "not doing a whole lot yet" with the Wild Card Series looming on Tuesday.
Judge missed three-plus months with a rib stress fracture between June and September. He returned on Sept. 8 and then suffered a calf strain just over a week later on the 16th. It was deemed a "moderate" calf strain by Boone, verbiage Judge did not like.
Nevertheless, it's looking less and less likely that Judge will be available for the Yankees' opening round playoff series against the Boston Red Sox.
New York might not need Judge to beat the Red Sox, especially considering that Boston could be without a couple of its top sluggers in Willson Contreras and Mickey Gasper.
But you can bet that the Yankees will need Judge in tow to win a World Series.
New York has been absolutely ravaged by injuries all season long, and it has been without two of its top sluggers — Judge and Giancarlo Stanton — most of the way.
Stanton has been sidelined since late April as a result of a calf injury of his own. He has had multiple setbacks in his recovery, but he has made stunning progress of late and could ultimately be a last-second addition to the Yanks' Wild Card roster.
The same goes for outfielder Trent Grisham, who has been out since the early stages of September due to a hamstring injury, but now appears ready to return.
Unfortunately, Judge does not appear to be following suit, not that anyone should be surprised.
It's been less than two weeks since the 34-year-old injured his calf, and calf strains typically take at least three weeks to fully heal.
There is a chance that Judge could return by the Division Series or the ALCS, if the Yankees manage to get that far, but even that seems a bit farfetched given the most recent update by Boone.
Judge slashed .241/.360/.511 with 18 home runs and 41 RBI over 285 plate appearances this season. His .871 OPS was his lowest mark since he first entered the big leagues in 2016, when he posted a .608 OPS over 27 games.
