Aaron Judge is officially back on the injured list with a right calf strain, effective Saturday, and the Yankees are publicly admitting they have no clue when their best player will be back. Talk about a gut punch for New York, especially since they can’t even say if Judge will be a factor for them come playoff time.
Skipping Rehab & A Rusty Return
You gotta wonder about the sequence of events here, right? Judge only played in seven games since he came off the IL last week. He was out for a whopping 99 days with a fractured right rib before that, and get this, he skipped a rehab assignment entirely. In his brief return, he looked pretty rusty, hitting a meager .174, going 4-for-23 with just one homer, two runs scored, three RBI, one walk, and a whopping 13 strikeouts in 24 plate appearances. He was shut down from any physical activity for more than three months, so a little rust is expected. But the weird thing is, he looked like he was finally getting his timing back during the Yankees’ series in Minnesota. The lineup around him actually looked complete and dominant! Things were trending up. Instead, another Judge injury just crashed that party and put a massive dent in the Yankees’ World Series aspirations.
The “Ominously Secretive” Calf Strain
What’s super sketchy is how quiet everyone’s been about this calf strain. The Yankees, including Judge himself, have remained ominously secretive. When reporters pressed him on Wednesday about what was going on, Judge brushed it off as “lower body.” The team called it “leg tightness.” This is after they went all out with a dozen social media posts last week announcing his big return! Yankees manager Aaron Boone didn’t help clear things up much, telling reporters in Phoenix, Ariz. on Wednesday that he had “no idea” if Judge would be back for the postseason and wouldn’t “predict anything.” Judge didn’t even make himself available to reporters at Chase Field on Friday. Remember Wednesday, after he exited that Minnesota game in the sixth inning? Judge totally downplayed the injury, saying it’s something he’s experienced before during “spring training ramp-ups” in past years. He didn’t even think it warranted extra tests then. Good on the Yankees, though, for pushing for additional tests on Thursday when the pain just wouldn’t quit. Boone said he was “concerned” when more imaging was needed despite Judge already getting treatment. Eventually, an MRI revealed the calf strain.
Unpredictable Timelines & Pivotal Series Ahead
These calf strains are brutal because they’re so unpredictable. Recovering from them can take wildly different amounts of time. Most calf strains typically heal within six weeks, but the really bad ones can drag on way longer. Take Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton, for example, who hasn’t played since April 24 after dealing with multiple calf strains, one in each leg, this season. Then there’s Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, who missed a chunky 56 games with a left calf strain this season. On the flip side, outfielder Juan Soto only missed 16 games with a right calf strain back in April. So, who knows how long Judge will be out, but the timing for this latest setback could not be worse, with the Yankees set to host the Rays in a pivotal four-game series. The Yankees have a huge series coming up against the Rays, and they’ll have to figure out how to navigate it without their superstar, again. What a mess.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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