Aaron Judge Likely to Miss Yankees' Opening Wild Card Series With Right Calf Strain

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge is likely to miss the opening American League Wild Card Series because of a moderate right calf strain, a major setback for a team that has already clinched a postseason berth but is trending toward the wild-card round. Manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday the club is not expecting Judge to be available at the start of the playoffs, saying, “We’re planning on him not being a part of that.”

Judge was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday, with the move retroactive to Thursday. The Yankees’ corresponding roster move was to recall Max Schuemann. MLB.com reported that Judge received what it described as a “platelet-poor plasma injection” in his right calf Monday and will be shut down from activity for a few days.

The AL Wild Card Series begins Sept. 29. New York has already secured a spot in the postseason, but its path appears increasingly likely to run through the wild-card bracket rather than the division title. As of Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Rays’ magic number was two to clinch the AL East and the league’s No. 1 seed, which would leave the Yankees in the Wild Card Series. Current playoff projections have New York expected to host Boston, though that matchup is not finalized.

Judge had only recently returned from a long absence caused by a fractured right rib. He came back Sept. 8 without a minor-league rehab assignment after missing most of the summer. In 66 games this season, Judge was batting .241/.360/.511 with 18 home runs and 41 RBIs, according to MLB.com’s Sept. 19 report.

Before going on the injured list, Judge was lifted in the sixth inning of a game last week after feeling stiffness in his lower right leg. After that exit, Judge said he initially tried to stay in because of the standings pressure.

“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.”

Judge’s likely absence would remove the Yankees’ best-known offensive star from the lineup at the start of October, but Boone noted over the weekend that the club has already spent much of the season adjusting without him.

“The reality is, we’ve had to play a lot of the season this year without him,” Boone said Sept. 19.