Aaron Judge restates 'plan' to play in wild-card series after Aaron Boone says Yankees 'not expecting' that

Gary Phillips, New York Daily News on Sep 23, 2026

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — Aaron Judge keeps saying he wants to return in time for the postseason.

On Wednesday, the Yankees’ captain told ESPN’s Jorge Castillo that he intends to be ready for Game 1 of the wild-card series. That will take place on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.

“That’s what the plan is,” Judge told ESPN. “Try to get my body ready so I’m ready to go.”

Judge’s comment came a day after Yankees manager Aaron Boone finally revealed that the back-to-back MVP suffered a moderate calf strain a week ago in Minnesota. According to the Boston Sports Medicine & Research Institute, a second-degree, or moderate, strain requires 3-6 weeks of rest and recovery before returning to full activity.

“We’re planning on him not being a part of that,” Boone said Tuesday when asked if Judge can make it back in time for the wild-card round.

“You hear all the time with injuries, we give ranges,” Boone continued. “The range is for a reason, and we’re at a point in the year where, obviously, we push it a little bit if that was in play. But [the wild-card round is] a week away, so I’m not expecting it, but I’m not ruling it out either.

“If he’s able to play, then we’ll give him that opportunity.”

Boone also said that Judge received a platelet-poor plasma (PPP) injection on Monday, which would restrict his movement for the next few days.

Asked about Judge’s status before Wednesday’s game, Boone said that “the process has started and is ongoing.”

“I don’t know [how] the next day or two unfolds,” Boone added. “We’ll hopefully get healed as quickly as possible and be an option as soon as possible.”

Judge’s comment to ESPN about wanting to play in the wild-card series was incredibly similar to one that he made on Saturday in Arizona.

“I’d like to be back by the postseason. That’s definitely the plan,” said Judge, noting that the earliest he can return is the last game of the regular season. “So we’ll see. I got really no answers for you on any timeline or anything like that.”

However, another remark made to ESPN would suggest that Judge is not thrilled that the severity of his injury was disclosed.

“We’ve done a lot of talks, but I can’t control what people say,” Judge told ESPN. “So you’ll have to talk to them about that.”

Judge, who missed 99 days with a fractured rib earlier this season and successfully pushed to skip a rehab assignment before returning from that injury on Sept. 8, is notoriously withholding when it comes to his injuries and prefers that the Yankees follow suit. They often do; the most recent example came over the weekend when he and Boone initially pretended that they didn’t know the grade of the slugger’s strain.

Judge said trainers never told him on Saturday. Boone, feigning ignorance on behalf of his superstar, claimed he never even bothered to ask.

On Friday, the manager used the phrase “I don’t know” eight times while discussing Judge’s injury.

One detail that Judge did share over the weekend is that he strained the soleus muscle in his calf, as opposed to the gastrocnemius muscle. Judge, who has only played in 66 games this season, said that the soleus muscle is more “crucial” to running and hitting.

“I’m definitely frustrated,” Judge said Saturday. “I’ve dealt with strains before and kind of played through them, but this was kind of in a different spot where it made it a little bit more difficult.

“The focus is still the same: to get ready to go for October.”