PHOENIX – On the list of Aaron Judge’s preferred activities, fielding questions about an ongoing injury issue probably ranks beneath an emergency trip to the dentist.
The Yankees’ captain expressed frustration with his return to the 10-day injured list on Saturday. And while he remained vague about the severity of his right calf strain, Judge did not close the door on being ready for the playoffs.
“I’d like to be back by the postseason,” Judge said. “That’s definitely the plan. [It’s the] 10-day IL, so the 10th day is probably the last game of the season. So we’ll see. I’ve got really no answers for you on any timeline or anything like that.”
Judge was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right calf strain on Saturday (retroactive to Thursday), the team announced. As such, the earliest possible date he could be activated would be Sept. 29 vs. the Orioles.
Infielder/outfielder Max Schuemann was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in a corresponding move.
Judge said he would continue throwing and working out “so we can hop right back into this as soon as we’re ready.”
He said that he would need to speak to the training staff to learn the grade of his strain, saying, “They haven’t told me yet.” But he did reveal that the strain was to the soleus muscle, which he said “is a little more crucial with running and hitting.”
“I’ve dealt with strains before and kind of played through them, but this was kind of in a different spot where it made it a little bit more difficult,” Judge said.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone again declined to provide the severity of the strain, and he would not offer an estimate for Judge’s expected return. Generally, even a Grade 1 calf strain requires two to three weeks to recover.
“It doesn’t matter what grade it is. We have nine games left,” Boone said. “We’re going to get him back, or we’re not. That’s what we’re going to work to do, and we’ll see.”
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.
Judge was lifted for a sixth-inning pinch-hitter in the Yankees’ 5-4, 13-inning loss to the Twins at Target Field on Wednesday. He said he felt stiffness in his lower right leg during the first inning.
“You feel things every single year,” Judge said. “I usually deal with calf stuff all year long. It usually doesn’t get to you guys [in the media], and I usually don’t miss any games. So that was kind of the same thing I was feeling. I was working my way back, and then something kind of grabs you at a strange time.”
It has been an injury-marred season for Judge, the reigning AL MVP. He has slashed .241/.360/.511 with 18 homers and 41 RBIs in 66 games.
Judge missed most of the summer with a fractured right rib, believed to have been sustained on April 26 in Houston. He played with the injury before landing on the injured list after a May 31 game against the Athletics in West Sacramento.
After several months on the IL, Judge was cleared to resume baseball activities, telling the club he did not want to go on a Minor League rehab assignment.
The Yankees acceded to his wishes, and Judge was activated on Sept. 8 against the Rockies. Like Boone, Judge said he would not second-guess the decision to skip that trip to the Minors.
“If this would have happened in a rehab game, I would’ve probably been a little bit more pissed than I [am] now,” Judge said.
Judge played just six games after being activated, going 4-for-23 (.174) with a homer.
“I’m definitely frustrated, because the ultimate goal was, I was trying to come back to get a couple of games in before the postseason,” Judge said. “So it changes it a little bit, but the focus is still the same – to be ready to go for October.”