Neither the Boston Red Sox nor the New York Yankees will enter the Wild Card series at full strength. The Red Sox have lost Mickey Gasper, Eli White and Tyron Guerrero to injuries and no one is convinced Willson Contreras' hand is 100 percent healthy.
As for the Yankees, they're expected to go into the series without Aaron Judge. After the slugger spent most of the season on the injured list with a rib stress fracture, he strained his calf just seven games after his activation. New York placed him on the 10 day IL retroactive to September 17 for the calf issue.
According to multiple sources including Jack Curry of YES Network, Judge isn't likely to be on the Wild Card roster. Curry's report on the evening of September 27 stated that Judge hadn't partaken in any baseball related activities and didn't play in any of the last 11 games of the season — it would be hard to squeeze him onto the Wild Card roster without much of a warm-up.
Curry also mentioned that Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he didn't expect Judge to be ready to go for the Wild Card series. Judge himself disagreed and said he'd do everything possible to get into the action, but the roster decisions are Boone's to make.
Many Yankees reporters consider it unlikely for Aaron Judge to play in Wild Card series against Red Sox
Judge's recovery seems to be taking a slight turn for the better. He took batting practice at Yankee Stadium on September 28, a good sign for New York. But he also hasn't run the bases yet, and since he's dealing with a leg injury, the Yankees will have to see that before they take his progress seriously.
Judge didn't perform up to his usual offensive standards before his rib injury this season, although the sample size of games is small. He slashed .241/.360/.511 over 66 games. He did hit 18 homers and 10 doubles in that time, which is still a high pace for extra base hits, but some of his consistency was gone this season.
Despite his regression and injuries, Judge is always a threat. The Red Sox's offense has struggled recently, with a league-worst .219 batting average and 71 runs scored in September, and a home run swing from Judge can overtake a small lead in one pitch.
If Judge's injury keeps him off the Yankees' Wild Card roster, it'll benefit the Red Sox. Their pitchers won't have to face him, their offense might not have to deliver as many runs and the Yankees' offense will be hindered. But Judge is a great player and the Yankees' captain for a reason — he might not let a calf injury keep him from the postseason, and though it isn't his call to make, Boone might go on to regret keeping an extremely determined Judge off his roster.
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