Aaron Judge Not On Yankees Wild Card Series Roster Against Red Sox

The question has been an open one for weeks now: will Aaron Judge be on the Yankees’ postseason roster? For now, the answer appears to be no. Judge is not be on New York’s roster against the Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Series, as he is still recovering from a calf strain. Judge suffered this latest injury barely a week into his return from a stress fracture in his ribs that sidelined him from June through Sept. 7. After returning on Sept. 8 against the Rockies, Judge played nearly every day for the Yankees – he skipped a rehab assignment in the minors to get back to the bigs as soon as possible, and uncharacteristically publicly voiced his displeasure with being removed from a game six innings in, as well. As FOX Sports’ Deesha Thosar wrote, this quick ramp-up leading into a calf strain was a signal for the Yankees to stop letting Judge do what he wants when it comes to injuries. He played through the stress fracture at first, and by general manager Brian Cashman’s admission, possibly made it worse by doing so, then missed 85 games on top of that. And this is before possibly overdoing it in his return, leading to the latest injury – an event followed by Judge attempting to push his way on to the Wild Card Series roster, as well. Even without Judge playing for most of 2026, the Yankees won the top wild-card in the AL, with a 93-68 record that stands as the second-best in the junior circuit this season. DH and first baseman Ben Rice ended up being the centerpiece of the offense in Judge’s absence, batting .264/.363/.534 with a team-best 41 homers and 146 OPS+ – Rice’s homer total was good for fourth in the American League. The Yankees host the Red Sox for the three-game AL Wild Card Series beginning on Tuesday. Should New York advance, Judge could always be placed on the roster for the Division Series round, where the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays await the winner of this matchup.