The New York Yankees have punched their ticket to the ALDS after defeating the Boston Red Sox 9-2 in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series on Wednesday night.
They outscored Boston 18-2 across the two games they played, and both of the Red Sox runs came off solo home runs.
Now, the Yankees are set for another real challenge as they’ll begin a best-of-five series against the No. 1-seeded Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Saturday.
Aaron Judge Gives Personal Update on Injury
Following the Yankees’ win, superstar Aaron Judge spoke to the media and gave a brief update on the calf injury that ultimately kept him off the 26-man roster for the Wild Card Series.
Now that the series is over, the Yankees can submit an entirely new roster for the ALDS, which could include Judge if they deem him healthy enough to play.
Judge, however, said that he did not run the bases at Somerset on Wednesday and hasn’t run the bases yet, which is likely one of the major steps in his rehab. He noted that he’s working every day toward a return.
“My job is to continue to get ready. That’s what I’ve been doing every day,” Judge said postgame.
Aaron Judge, while dodging champagne spritzes, said that he did not run the bases in Somerset today.
He didn’t have anything to say about his potential availability for the ALDS, other than, “My job is to continue to get ready. That’s what I’ve been doing every day.” #Yankees https://t.co/5GhWIRVrd3
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) October 1, 2026
How Can Judge Play in ALDS?
For Judge to be eligible to play in the ALDS, the Yankees would obviously need to activate him and then add him to the 26-man roster before Saturday’s game.
However, doing that would mean removing another player. Given that New York already went hitter-heavy with its pitcher-to-batter ratio for the Wild Card roster, it would likely be one of its bench bats, such as Amed Rosario or Jose Caballero. If they choose to keep the infield depth, it would have to be one of the outfielders, such as Heliot Ramos, Trent Grisham, or Spencer Jones.
The team added Giancarlo Stanton to the Wild Card roster, but he made no appearances. So, it’s possible they could add Judge and let him continue rehabbing for Games 1 and 2 before bringing him back when the series heads to New York.
Yankees’ Aaron Judge Gives Personal Injury Update Ahead of ALDS vs. Rays