Aaron Judge Injury Update, Latest Status as Yankees Announce Roster for Red Sox Series

After being placed on the injured list two weeks ago with a calf injury, New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge won't be ready to play in the team's American League Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox.

The Yankees officially left Judge off of the team's roster for the matchup with the Red Sox. Jack Curry of YES first reported on Judge's status.

New York and Boston will start their series with Game 1 on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.

Judge missed the bulk of the 2026 regular season because of a fractured rib, and just seven games after returning to action from that injury, he landed back on the IL with a calf issue.

On Monday, Judge participated in batting practice for the first time since suffering the injury, and he told reporters that he was trying to make a push to be ready for the Wild Card Series.

"I've been doing a lot of convincing," Judge said. "I feel like I'm going to keep doing that. But I think the most important thing is just making sure I'm healthy and ready to go for this long stretch. We got another month of baseball to play so I want to be ready for the long run we're going to go on here for this next month. We're all going to be smart, but I think they all know I want to be out there, especially that first game."

Yankees manager Aaron Boone had previously told reporters that he did not expect to have Judge available for the Wild Card Series, but that didn't stop Judge trying to make a late push to be included on the roster.

After winning back-to-back AL MVP awards in 2024 and 2025, Judge was nowhere near his normal level of production this season.

Appearing in just 66 games, Judge slashed .241/.360/.511 with 18 home runs and 41 RBI.

Aside from the COVID-shortened season of 2020, those marked Judge's lowest homer and RBI totals since 2016, which saw him appear in only 27 games as a rookie.

Despite not having Judge for most of the season, the Yankees still managed to finish 93-68, giving them the second-best record in the AL.

However, since the Tampa Bay Rays won the AL East with a 98-64 mark, the Yankees have to take the more difficult road of going through the Wild Card Series in order to reach the American League Division Series.

Had the Yankees gotten a bye into the ALDS, it may have improved the chances of Judge not having to miss any playoff time.

As for ALWCS, the Yankees will be without their best player, but they still have plenty of offensive firepower from the likes of Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger and Co.

However, it is their pitching that makes them favored to knock off Boston with a starting rotation of Cam Schlittler, Max Fried, Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón.

If the Yanks can get past the Red Sox in the ALWCS and make it to the ALDS against the Rays, it will give Judge a few more days to get ready and potentially still give him a chance to make an impact in the playoffs.