Aaron Judge headed to 10-day injured list with right calf strain

Aaron Judge is headed back to the injured list.

The New York Yankees announced Friday that Judge will be placed on the 10-day injured list with a right calf strain, effective Saturday. The team said in its MLB.com announcement that a corresponding roster move would be made Saturday.

The move is a significant late-season development for New York because Judge is the Yankees’ captain and centerpiece, and because it comes just after the club secured a postseason berth. It also follows Judge’s recent return from an extended absence caused by a fractured rib, making this his second major health setback of the season.

Judge’s latest issue surfaced Wednesday in Minnesota. In the Yankees’ Sept. 16 game against the Twins, he exited early after experiencing stiffness and tightness in his lower right leg. Game reports and the box score showed he was replaced by a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning.

Judge said in the Yankees’ announcement that he initially tried to stay in the game before deciding it was better to come out.

“I tried to kind of play it off and see how long we could go, because these games are important down the stretch,” Judge said. “But kind of talking it over, I thought it'd be the right move to come out, so I don't cost the team on the field or cost the team on the basepath.”

The timing stands out because the Yankees had already clinched a postseason berth on Sept. 15 with an 8-3 win at Minnesota. As of Friday, New York was 88-64 and already in playoff position, shifting the focus from whether the team would reach October to whether one of its most important players will be available down the stretch of the regular season.

The club had not announced its corresponding roster move as of Friday evening.

For the Yankees, the immediate story is less about medical detail than about availability. Judge had only just made it back from a long layoff, and now New York will again be without its biggest star, at least for the minimum injured-list period, as the regular season winds down after the team has already locked up a spot in the postseason.