Aaron Judge lands on IL with calf strain in Yankees nightmare
PHOENIX — The verdict is in, and it is not good.
Aaron Judge is going on the 10-day injured list with a right calf strain, seven games after he returned from a three-month stay on the IL with a right rib stress fracture.
After Friday, there are only nine games left in the regular season, and the earliest Judge can be activated off the IL is for Game 162.
Whether he will be ready by then, though, remains to be seen, creating major concerns for the Yankees as they head down the stretch without their best player.
Judge, after leaving Wednesday’s game against the Twins early, likened the issue to something he would deal with in spring training while building up his workload, except it is now September with the AL wild-card series less than two weeks away.
The Yankees still mathematically have a shot at the division, but they entered Friday five games back of the Rays with 10 to play, needing some serious help to overtake them.
Before the calf injury, Judge was still trying to lock in his timing at the plate after a long layoff, batting 4-for-23 (.174) with a .513 OPS and one home run.
