Yankees leaving injured Aaron Judge off wild-card roster

Gary Phillips, New York Daily News on Sep 29, 2026

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — Aaron Judge will not be on the New York Yankees’ wild-card roster, a source confirmed to the New York Daily News on Tuesday morning.

The decision, first reported by the YES Network’s Jack Curry, should not come as much of a surprise, as the back-to-back MVP suffered a moderate strain in the soleus muscle of his right calf on Sept. 16. Moderate calf strains typically require 3-6 weeks of rest and recovery, per the Boston Sports Medicine & Research Institute, and Judge had yet to run the bases by the conclusion of the Yankees’ pre-postseason workout on Monday.

Asked on Monday if he’s done any type of running lately, Judge only mentioned work on the Yankees’ anti-gravity treadmill. He also didn’t do any defensive work during the workout despite repeatedly noting that playing right field upon his return would be best given the Yankees’ surplus of players restricted to first base and DH.

Still, Judge had repeatedly said that he’s been doing all he can to be ready for the Yankees’ Game 1 matchup against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night. The captain, who received a PPP injection last week, reiterated that on Monday before taking on-field batting practice and four plate appearances against live pitching. Facing Elmer Rodríguez and another roster hopeful in Ryan Weathers, Judge worked two walks, struck out looking and hit a ground ball back to the pitcher.

“I’ve been doing a lot of convincing, I feel like, so I’m going to keep doing that,” Judge said before adding, “We’re all going to be smart, but I think they all know I want to be out there, especially in the first game.”

Ultimately, the Yankees decided that that wasn’t the wisest move, as Judge could have risked further damage by playing on his calf so soon.

“Guys take risks every single day,” Judge said Monday. “I know a lot of guys in here are banged up and dealing with stuff. So, yeah, I understand the risks.”

On Monday, Aaron Boone did say that Judge has been “making progress,” but the manager declined to make any commitments on the slugger’s roster status.

“We’ll continue to see where he’s at,” Boone said before the workout, adding that he would have to check in with the Yankees’ medical and training staffs afterward.

Judge, meanwhile, was asked if he expected to be included in the Yankees’ final deliberations.

“I’m a part of zero plans,” he said. “They make the decisions. They kind of run this. So I voice my opinions. That might be 1% of what goes into the final say so.”

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