Aaron Judge isn’t giving up hope just yet.
One day after manager Aaron Boone said he was “not expecting” the Yankees captain to return from a calf injury in time for the American League wild-card series, Judge opened the door for a first-round return.
Judge told ESPN on Wednesday that he’s looking to be ready to go for Game 1, which would be Tuesday night.
“That’s what the plan is,” Judge said. “Try to get my body ready so I’m ready to go.”
Judge, according to ESPN, said he has been in discussions with the team about his injury, but added it’s not up to him what the team says publicly about his status.
“We’ve done a lot of talks, but I can’t control what people say,” Judge said. “So you’ll have to talk to them about that.”
The three-time AL MVP, just eight days after returning from a rib fracture that left him on the injured list for three-plus months, landed back on the IL on Saturday with the calf strain.
Judge’s comments about a possible playoff return to ESPN echoed what he told reporters in Arizona on the day he returned to the IL.
“I’d like to be back by the postseason,” Judge said Saturday. “That’s definitely the plan.”
The injuries have limited Judge to 66 games, with the Yankees going 41-25 in those contests. They were 49-42 without him entering Wednesday’s game against the Rays.
Though Boone poured some cold water Tuesday on the possibility of Judge returning for the wild-card round — likely to be against the rival Red Sox — he did say it wasn’t totally out of the question.
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“I’m not expecting it,” Boone said. “But I’m not ruling it out either.”
If Judge is not ready to go for the wild-card round, Cody Bellinger, Spencer Jones and Heliot Ramos figure to be the main outfield contingent.
