The New York Yankees left Aaron Judge off their American League Division Series roster, choosing caution over an immediate return as the slugger works back from a calf injury.
The decision was not unanimous inside the organization, as ESPN insider Jeff Passan reported that club officials were still weighing the call as recently as Friday, before New York formally ruled Judge out of the series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Judge has not played since mid-September. He went down again only days after coming back from a rib injury that had already cost him much of the summer, leaving the Yankees without their best hitter at the moment the postseason began.
The team announced Saturday that he would not be available for the opening round. Passan said that absence could be short if New York advances.
Before the roster was finalized, Passan described a split inside the organization.
“Some in the organization want him to play,” he reported. “Others, wary of him further aggravating the injury and imperiling him for the remainder of the postseason, would prefer to wait another week. Further complicating matters is the likelihood that Judge could be resigned to designated hitter duties, potentially taking at-bats from Luis Garcia Jr.”
That extra week would line Judge up for a possible return at the start of the American League Championship Series, or near the end of this series if it goes the distance. New York and Tampa Bay are scheduled to play a decisive Game 5, if necessary, on Saturday, October 10.
Getting there is no formality.
The Rays won seven of the clubs’ 13 meetings this season, including five of seven at Tropicana Field, where as many as three ALDS games could be played.
New York Post reporter Greg Joyce wrote that the Yankees still appeared close to having Judge available. He took batting practice at Tropicana Field on Friday and had faced live pitching on at least three of the previous five days, an accelerated push meant to get him back in time for the Rays.
“Judge took batting practice at Tropicana Field on Friday and faced live pitching on at least three of the last five days, in an attempt to get back in time to help the Yankees take on the Rays,” Joyce reported.
Those sessions were not enough to clear the final benchmarks the club wanted before a playoff start.
The result is a calculated pause rather than a closed door. Judge is progressing, but not far enough for the Yankees to risk a setback that could wipe out the rest of October.
If New York survives Tampa Bay, the same internal debate that kept him off the ALDS roster may resolve in his favor for the next round.
