ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. \u2014 There were times Friday, Aaron Boone admitted, when he thought that Aaron Judge was going to be on the ALDS roster.<\/p>\n
In all likelihood, it would have been just as a pinch hitter<\/a>, possibly with a chance to be a full player later in the best-of-five series against the Rays if his right calf allowed. That was all part of the discussion when Boone sat down with Judge and director of sports medicine and rehab Mike Schuck in his office at Tropicana Field after Friday\u2019s workout. The manager then asked for an hour to think it through even more before ultimately coming to the decision to leave Judge off the roster<\/a> for the second straight round.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the end, I just feel like he\u2019s not quite ready to do it,\u201d Boone said Saturday in that same office before Game 1 of the ALDS. \u201cHe wanted to be on and was willing to do anything, but I just felt like for us to win a World Series \u2014 and fully acknowledging with him, and I understand this, obviously there\u2019s no guarantees. We could be home in a week.<\/p>\n \u201cBut for us to potentially have a [good] version of Aaron back, I feel like he needs this week to continue to hit, continue to ramp up the running and moving and all those things. So it was very close for me \u2026 but I just felt like this was the right decision.\u201d<\/p>\n New York Yankees\u2019 Aaron Judge takes batting practice during a workout day before a Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y. Robert Sabo for NY Post<\/p>\n Judge, who has been doing everything in his power in the 17 days since he strained his right calf to get back as soon as possible, took the news \u201cOK.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019s disappointed, because I think he wants to be on, but I think he understands, too,\u201d Boone said.<\/p>\n And so the three-time MVP was back at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees spring training home in Tampa, Saturday morning to continue his buildup in hopes of joining the Yankees for the ALCS if they can get there without him.<\/p>\n Judge has taken multiple rounds of live batting practice over the last five days and started his outdoor running progression Tuesday, a few hours before Game 1 of the AL wild-card series against the Red Sox, though he has still not advanced to running the bases. So despite making progress and looking better, it was still not enough to defy the odds and return this quickly.<\/p>\n New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge smiles as he walks into the batting cage to take batting practice at Yankee Stadium on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. JASON SZENES FOR NEW YORK POST<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality is he just hasn\u2019t run a lot yet or started to move a lot,\u201d Boone said. \u201cIt\u2019s one thing to be able to go out there and manage. It\u2019s another thing to do it [for] three hours. I just feel like that volume part of it would have been a real challenge. And if we kept him on [the roster] in Giancarlo [Stanton\u2019s] role, in that pinch hitting role, I feel like that would have stripped away the ability to have some really good days and be in a better position five, seven, nine days from now.\u201d<\/p>\n The ALCS begins Oct. 12, nine days away from Saturday.<\/p>\n New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone enters the field for batting practice before Game Two of a Wild Card series against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y., Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. Robert Sabo for NY Post<\/p>\n The Yankees considered carrying Judge on the roster with the thought of not using him until later in the series, like once they got back to New York for Game 3 or 4, but opted against it.<\/p>\n \u201cI just felt like we probably needed a little more time for that to be a realistic thing,\u201d Boone said.<\/p>\n