PHOENIX — Three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge is headed back on the injured list — this time with a right calf strain — and New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone isn't sure whether the slugger will be able to return for the postseason.
New York said it will make the roster move on Saturday. The placement could be backdated to Thursday, meaning it is possible Judge could return for New York’s regular-season finale on Sept. 27.
Boone didn't offer any guarantees that would happen.
“I don’t know,” Boone said. “I don’t have a timeline on him. He’s on the IL now. I’m not going to predict anything. He’s getting treated and we’ll see what transpires.”
Judge was removed for a pinch hitter in the sixth inning Wednesday during a game against the Minnesota Twins because of the discomfort in his leg. Judge said at the time it was a precautionary move, but Boone said symptoms persisted and an MRI showed the strain.
Judge was 4 for 23 with 13 strikeouts and one extra-base hit in seven games since returning last week from a broken rib, which kept him out of the lineup for more than three months.
Boone said utilityman Max Schuemann will be recalled from Triple-A to take Judge's place on the roster. Schuemann is batting .194 with two homers and eight RBIs in 87 big league plate appearances this season.
Three-time All-Star Cody Bellinger said he was frustrated for Judge because he knows how hard the 34-year-old has worked to get back into the lineup.
“It hurts. We all know he's the best hitter in the game,” Bellinger said. “But for us in here, the mindset is that we're going to have to find a way. I think the talent in this locker room speaks for itself, and I'm fully confident that we have enough talent in here to go out and beat anybody.”
Judge is hitting .241 with 18 homers and 41 RBIs over 66 games this season. The Yankees have already clinched a playoff spot but entered Friday five games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.
Boone echoed Bellinger's sentiment that the Yankees have enough talent to weather another Judge injury. Ben Rice leads New York with 38 homers while Bellinger is hitting .276 with a team-high 25 doubles, 16 homers and 71 RBIs.
The Yankees entered with 47-39 record in the games Judge has missed this season and a 41-25 mark in games that he's played.
“We've got a lot of really good offensive players,” Boone said. “A lot of good players, guys who are playing really well now. The reality is we've had to play a lot of this year without him. There's no replacing a player like Aaron Judge, but we have high expectations that don't change.”
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