“He Needs to Be Out There”: Yankees Urged to Take Serious Risk With Aaron Judge as Playoffs Progress

The New York Yankees earned themselves a postseason berth without their best player, Aaron Judge, on the roster. Now, they have also overcome the Red Sox hurdle in the Wild Card Series without the captain. Through 84 regular-season games and a two-game sweep of the Red Sox, the current Yankees team has proved they can survive without Judge. But whether it will remain true in the division series is uncertain, and a former baseball player does not want the Yankees to take that risk.

“If Aaron Judge is even 50%, I think he needs to be out there,” said Todd Frazier on Foul Territory.

“I think he’s a dude that you put in there; I know calf strains are a pain in the b–t. I know what Mike Trout went through… If he says he can go, I’m putting him out there and being cautious with him. I’d DH him.”

Aaron Judge also expressed a similar wish before the AL Wild Card Series.

However, manager Aaron Boone wanted a fully healthy team in action and kept the veteran Yankee off the 26-man roster for the AL Wild Card Series.

With Cam Schlittler’s 10K in 6.1 innings in Game 1 and Max Fried’s 1-run in 6 innings in Game 2, the Yankees did not miss the slugger’s bat. Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger stepped up to the plate to provide run support.

Though the Yankees easily dominated the Red Sox, they will face the AL East winners, the Tampa Bay Rays, in the division series. They will not have the home-field advantage in the first two ALDS games.

Game 1 and Game 2 will be held at Tropicana Field.

After 13 games, the Rays won the regular season 7-6 against the Yankees. Despite that, the Yankees outscored the Rays, 54-45, while the Rays outhit the Yankees, 103-99. During their last meeting, the Rays and the Yankees split the four-game series.

Taking this pattern into consideration, the division series will likely be a tightly contested one, and the Yankees need all the reinforcements they can get.

If Aaron Judge can find his rhythm at the plate, the Yankees can only benefit from adding him.

However, following his return after an 84-game hiatus due to a fracture in his first right rib, Judge slashed only .174/.208/.358 with one homer and three RBIs. Judge’s return lasted only seven games before he was back on the IL with a calf strain. The latest injury is keeping Judge off the postseason roster.

Judge is diagnosed with a moderate, Grade 2 strain in his soleus muscle. A similar Grade 2 strain in the soleus muscle ended Mike Trout’s 2021 season prematurely in May. But Judge is desperate to avoid such consequences and get back to the game, preferably in the upcoming division series against the Rays.

To speed up his healing, he has even taken a platelet-poor plasma injection. It is a relatively new process and is still considered experimental by insurance companies, per Bob Klapisch of NJ.com.

“Judge received a shot from Dr. Chris Ahmad, the Yankees’ physician, last week,” Bob Klapisch reported, per NJ.com. “The slugger is banking on this therapy as the difference between helping the Yankees in October and having to postpone his return until 2027.”

Meanwhile, Judge took live batting practice at Yankee Stadium and will work out on Friday. However, skipper Aaron Boone told the reporters he is still undecided on whether to start him.

“We’ll see,” Boone said when asked about Judge’s potential return, per Yahoo Sports.

“He’ll be working out [Friday]. He hit again live [Thursday] at Yankee Stadium. He’s doing more today over at [Steinbrenner Field in Tampa] and [Tropicana Field]. So we’ll probably make those calls later tonight.”

The first pitch for Game 1 at Tropicana Field is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET. However, the Yankees must decide by 10 a.m. ET on Saturday before submitting their final 26-man roster for the division series. Gerrit Cole will kick off the series for the Yankees.

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