Aug 4, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right field Aaron Judge (99) looks out during the seventh inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Aaron Judge does not agree with the prognosis that his manager, Aaron Boone, gave him on Tuesday when he said that the Yankees were not “planning” on him being available for next week’s American League Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox in the Bronx.
“My goal is to come back as soon as I can,” Judge said. “That’s what we’re doing right now. If he says I’m not going to be ready, I’ve got no control over that. I got control over what I can do to try to get back as soon as I can.
“If you ask me if I’m going to be back, I’m going to tell you, I’m doing everything I can every single day I show up here to get back and be ready to go.”
Judge, who missed three months with a fractured rib, made his return earlier this month, but it only lasted seven games until suffering a calf strain. Boone also said on Tuesday that it was “moderate,” another descriptor that Judge pushed back on.
“Everybody’s moderate is a little different,” Judge said. “I think your moderate is a little different than my moderate, and so on and so on. So I don’t know why he used those words, but I’m trying to come back as soon as I can.”
The 34-year-old captain received a platelet-poor plasma (PPP) injection in that right calf on Monday and has been doing some work jumping and running, while also putting in time in the weight room.
As much as Judge remains optimistic, his revelations are working against him, in a way. He previously divulged that the strain was in the soleus muscle of his calf, something he described as “a little more crucial with running and hitting.”
Insinuating that he will be ready by Game 1 on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium feels like a lofty goal, though it’s something that the generational slugger appears to be clinging to.
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