The New York Yankees won their Wild Card Series over the Boston Red Sox with relative ease, outscoring their rivals 18-2 in the two-game sweep. They did so without their biggest name and best player, three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge. Things now shift to the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays, beginning Saturday at Tropicana Field.
It seems like a last-minute decision. Game 1 of the ALDS starts at 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday, and teams need to submit official ALDS rosters prior to the start of the series.
Judge, 34, has been on the injured list since Sept. 16 with a calf strain. "We'll see," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Friday (via SNY). "He'll be working out today.
He hit again live yesterday at Yankee Stadium. He's doing more live today over at [George M. Streinbrenner Field in Tampa] and here, so we'll make those calls probably later tonight." Judge has been doing some running, Boone said, but the slugger's status remains up in the air.
"The trainers will obviously play a big part in this as the day unfolds and we'll see where we're at and what it potentially looks like for this series," Boone said. Boone told reporters earlier this week that Judge had been "making progress," but he was still left off the roster for the Wild Card Series. There's risk here either way.
If Judge is left off the roster, he can't join the club before the ALCS, if the Yankees make it there, unless someone else on the team falls injured. A player being replaced on the roster due to injury, by rule, must be left off the roster for the next round. If there's any chance Judge could come back, the Yankees surely will want to roster him.
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