Judge headed back to IL with right calf strain

PHOENIX -- Aaron Judge is going back on the injured list, meaning the Yankees must navigate the end of the regular season without their captain -- and potentially part of the playoffs.

Judge will be placed on the 10-day injured list with a right calf strain on Saturday, the team announced, with a corresponding roster move to be made at that time.

The timing means Judge will be inactive not only for this weekend’s series against the D-backs, but also a crucial four-game showdown against the Rays next week at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees entered play Friday trailing Tampa Bay by five games in the American League East.

Judge’s earliest possible return date would be the season’s final game, Sept. 27 vs. Baltimore. The American League Wild Card Series is set to begin on Sept. 29; at present, that would see the Yankees hosting the Red Sox in the Bronx.

On Wednesday, Judge was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning of the Yankees’ 5-4, 13-inning loss to the Twins at Target Field. Judge said he felt stiffness in his lower right leg during the first inning.

“I tried to kind of play it off and see how long we could go, because these games are important down the stretch,” Judge said on Wednesday. “But kind of talking it over, I thought it'd be the right move to come out, so I don't cost the team on the field or cost the team on the basepath.”

Judge missed most of the summer with a fractured right rib, believed to be sustained on April 26 in Houston. He played with the injury for about a month before landing on the injured list after a May 31 game against the Athletics in West Sacramento.

Bypassing a Minor League rehab assignment, Judge returned on Sept. 8 against the Rockies. He was 4-for-23 (.174) with a homer in six games.

Overall this season, Judge -- the reigning American League Most Valuable Player -- has batted .241/.360/.511 with 18 homers and 41 RBIs in 66 games.