Three-time MVP Aaron Judge left OFF Yankees ALDS roster vs Rays
Aaron Judge will sit out the New York Yankees' American League Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays due to a right calf strain that may threaten his viability all October.
Judge was not included on the team's ALDS roster submitted in advanc of Game 1 Saturday, Oct. 3, even as he vowed to "do all he can" to play against the Rays after sitting out their two-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox in the wild-card round.
Judge suffered the injury Sept. 16 at Minnesota, just seven games after returning from a rib fracture. He played in just 66 games this season after winning consecutive AL MVP awards.
Now, he'll cool it a little longer as his teammates take aim at the Rays, who won the AL East in Judge's absence.
Before the Yankees finished off the Red Sox, Judge got simulated at-bats in at their Class AAA facility in Somerset. After the team flew to Tampa for the ALDS, he worked out at their spring training facility there and also went through the off day workout at Tropicana Field. Manager Aaron Boone did not specify whether Judge had run the bases in his rehab progression, often one of the final steps to a return, but noted he had tested the calf in other fashions.
New York's sweep of Boston marked its first playoff games contested without Judge, 34, since 2015.
The club added lefty starter Ryan Weathers to the roster for this round, as the best-of-five format will require more length from the pitching staff. DH Giancarlo Stanton is also back on the roster, though he didn't get an at-bat in the two-game wild card series as he returns from a lengthy absence due to a pair of calf injuries.
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