Aaron Judge is on the injured list, the kind of news that is enough to cause some serious pain to New York Yankees‘ fans.
But the update might be even worse from what Yankees manager Aaron Boone had to say on Friday night before the Yanks began their three-game series at the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Boone was asked if the Yankees think they’ll have Judge in the playoffs.
His answer: “I don’t know.”
Talk about three painful words.
Aaron Boone when asked if the Yankees expect Aaron Judge back for the postseason:
“I don’t know.”
(Via @GaryHPhillips) pic.twitter.com/OV73MkR4fr
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) September 18, 2026
This is what Greg Joyce of the New York Post wrote on X:
Yankees are not putting a public timetable on Aaron Judge’s calf injury, nor saying what grade the strain is. But after Judge got treatment on it yesterday, there was not enough improvement, at which point they decided to send him for tests. May get a PRP injection back in NY.
— Greg Joyce (@GJoyce9) September 18, 2026
This is rough for the Yankees all around.
The reigning AL MVP has hit 18 home runs in 66 games this season with an .871 OPS. But it’s not clear if he’ll play any more.
When is Aaron Judge Coming Back?
Judge is eligible to return from the 10-day IL on Sunday, Sept. 27 — that’s because the 10 days on the IL begin with Thursday, Sept. 17, the first date on the calendar Judge didn’t play a game, rather than it being the date that he was actually put on the IL.
Sept. 27 is the last day of the regular season, with the Yankees playing the Baltimore Orioles that day.
Assuming the Yanks don’t win the AL East Division, which would require a big rally down the stretch to catch the Rays, their wild card opener will be on Tuesday, Sept. 29 — likely against the Boston Red Sox.
Judge exited Wednesday’s 13-inning loss to the Minnesota Twins in the sixth inning. He had this to say after that game (his most recent public comments about his injury thus far):
“I tried to kind of play it off and see how long we could go, because these games are important down the stretch. 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.”
What Was Aaron Judge’s First Injury?
Judge hadn’t hurt his calf earlier this season that forced him to miss much of the year. The calf injury is a new ailment.
He missed most of the season with a fractured right rib, which he is believed to have played with for about a month before he finally sat out action to heal.
The Yankees placed him on the IL at the start of June, and he didn’t return until Sept. 8, an absence of more than three months.
Now, Judge goes back on the IL just 10 days later.
3 Words on Aaron Judge’s Injury Could Break Yankees’ Hearts