Aaron Judge's Injury-Wrecked Season Takes Another Hit: Calf Strain Sends Him Back to the IL for the Stretch Run
Aaron Judge is going back on the injured list just as the Yankees try to chase down Tampa Bay. Per MLB.com: "Judge will be placed on the 10-day injured list with a right calf strain on Saturday, the team announced." The timing knocks him out of this weekend's series in Arizona and "a crucial four-game showdown against the Rays next week at Yankee Stadium" — the series that decides whether New York has any shot at the AL East. "Judge's earliest possible return date would be the season's final game, Sept. 27 vs. Baltimore."
Judge exited Wednesday's 5-4, 13-inning loss to Minnesota in the sixth inning: "I tried to kind of play it off and see how long we could go, because these games are important down the stretch12," Judge said. "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."
The calf strain is the latest chapter in a lost season for the reigning AL MVP, who missed most of the summer with a fractured right rib, returned Sept. 8 without a rehab assignment, and hit .174 (4-for-23) in six games back.3 His season line: .241/.360/.511 with 18 homers and 41 RBIs in 66 games. The Yankees (88-64) trail the Rays by 5 in the AL East and currently project to host the Red Sox in the Wild Card Series.
What it means: New York's faint division hopes likely die this week without him, and the bigger question is whether Judge — who has now lost most of two seasons to injury — is even available for a postseason run that would begin with a Boston series in the Bronx.
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An instance of Elite competitors cannot prioritize team duty over structural warning signs without ending their seasons. — Prioritizing the pennant race over the calf's warning signs lands the reigning MVP back on the injured list for the stretch run. ↩︎
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An instance of Playing through minor physical strain inevitably triggers a far more destructive eventual shutdown. — Playing through his return from a rib fracture immediately converted into a fresh calf strain and another IL stint. ↩︎
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An instance of Elite talent can no longer outrun the physical toll of the modern schedule. — Recurring physical breakdowns have erased a superstar's season and now threaten to erase his team's contention with it. ↩︎