The last time Aaron Judge accelerated his return, it did not go as planned. Judge’s decision to skip rehab did him no favors, as he barely lasted seven games before he was back on the injured list. This time, the New York Yankees and manager Aaron Boone do not want to take the same risk, but Judge is determined to be back during the Wild Card Series, beginning Tuesday, indicating a potential rift between the captain and his manager.

As reports of tension and uncertainty within the Yankees emerged, a senior MLB insider explained what might be going on between Judge and Boone in simple terms.

“At the same time, they both continue to insist how much they have each other’s backs. And I believe that. That is a very strong relationship,” Ken Rosenthal said on Foul Territory. “So, as I said on my show yesterday, this might be simply a case of a player expressing his desire to play. And it might go no deeper than that. The guy wants to play.”

And there is no denying that Aaron Judge has a desire to play.

When Aaron Judge returned from his IL stint on September 8, the Yankees decided to gradually build his workload rather than stretching him all at once. But when Boone pulled Judge early and replaced him with Heliot Ramos, the Yankees captain was not happy with the decision.

“I respect him,” Judge reportedly said at the time. “Whatever he says, I’m going to do, but I’m not happy about it.”

Fast forward to September 16, Judge strained his right calf and exited the game against the Minnesota Twins. The Yankees initially did not announce the type of injury Judge suffered; the captain even said that he was not planning to undergo imaging.

But that must have changed, as the Yankees placed him on the IL on September 19, retroactive to September 17. Judge is eligible to be back on the last day of the season, the finale. The 34-year-old even took a platelet-poor plasma injection to speed up his healing. However, Boone is not keen on putting him in the lineup when they play against the Boston Red Sox next week.

The manager has dubbed the calf strain as “moderate” and believes Judge needs more time to recover. With low-grade to moderate strains needing as much as 6-8 weeks to properly heal, the manager’s opinion is not baseless, but the player has actively pushed back against Boone.

While the situation might indicate a stressed relationship between the two, Rosenthal tried to explain Aaron Judge’s psychology.

“He’s not going to concede. The great ones never do. Even average ones don’t do that,” Rosenthal told on Foul Territory. “When you reach the major leagues, you have a certain level of confidence and faith in your ability and faith to come back from injuries. Period. So it might be just that.”

For a player of Aaron Judge’s stature, the explanation does not feel far off. Furthermore, after playing in pinstripes for a decade, he has also earned a position of authority within the clubhouse, especially as the captain. It’s not easy for him to watch from the sidelines.

The Yankees are 52-43 without Judge this season. Their hitting average also dropped to .228 in Judge’s absence. So, the Yankees will definitely want Judge to play, not only for the numbers but also for his presence as well. As Cody Bellinger said earlier, “Missing Judge, it hurts,” but they can still win games. Like they secured the postseason berth during his extended IL stint due to a right rib fracture.

Manager Aaron Boone has said that the Yankees are aiming to keep Judge as an option in the postseason, but not at the cost of his injury.

“I don’t want to get too much into that, but at the end of the day, we’re all in this together,” Boone told the reporters. “And [we’re] trying to get, in his case, trying to get him right and get him healthy so he can be an option for us here at some point. But we’re also going to listen to the injury. I see it as just a passionate player that’s doing all he can to get back for his teammates.”

For now, the Yankees will prepare to host their archrivals, the Boston Red Sox, on Tuesday.