The New York Yankees are heading into the 2026 postseason without Aaron Judge. Despite the Yankees captain doing everything possible to convince the team he was ready to go, he was left off the Wild Card roster against the Boston Red Sox as he continues to recover from a soleus strain in his right calf.
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Just a day before the roster announcement, Judge was still making his case. “I’ve been doing a lot of convincing, I feel like, so I’m going to keep doing that,” he said. And the urgency is understandable. Judge had hit .364 with four hits and an RBI across three games in the 2025 AL Wild Card Series. That makes his absence an especially difficult decision for New York.
Yet, manager Aaron Boone explained why the captain was ultimately deemed too risky to include when the stakes could not be higher.
“Obviously he had the workout last night,” said Boone (via SNY Yankees on X). “The fact that he was able to get out there and take BP, take live swings, wasn’t just him going out there and doing it… So, it’s a significant step for him, and I think a sign that he’s shown real improvement here over the last couple of weeks.
“We had an honest conversation last night after the workout, he and I, and a couple of the trainers, and I just felt like he wasn’t quite ready.”
Even after being left out of the roster, Judge was seen throwing in practice, and a video of a batting practice homer also emerged on social media.
Notably, a soleus strain normally requires at least three weeks to fully heal. Judge suffered the injury on Sep. 16, just eight days after returning from a three-month absence due to a fractured right rib. So, the Yankees opted to exercise extreme caution.
By keeping him off the roster for the Wild Card Series against the Red Sox, the Yankees are allowing Aaron Judge, who had a .500 postseason last year, extra days to rehab. The hope is that if the Yankees advance, he will be sufficiently healed to rejoin the active lineup for the ALDS.
The Yankees have already experienced what it means to be without Aaron Judge. In 2023, the Yankees were a formidable 35-25 and firmly in playoff position. However, Judge suffered a toe injury, and during his 42-game absence, the team crumbled. They posted a dismal 19-23 record that ultimately sank them into fourth place in the AL East.
Hence, Boone may have deemed it right to keep Judge for the ALDS over the Wild Card series.
However, a silver lining is that Giancarlo Stanton is back in business.
“He’s never stopped going and stopped grinding, even through some tough moments. This is a unique series in that we feel like we’re able to go heavy on the position-player front,” Boone said about Stanton’s return. “So there’s an avenue for an at-bat and some interchangeable parts there. So credit to him for putting himself in position to be an option.”
While Stanton’s role may be limited to pinch-hitting, the Yankees are clearly targeting the fences. And if ALDS gets confirmed, another Judge-Stanton show might be around the corner.