The New York Yankees don't know if they'll have Aaron Judge for the Wild Card Series yet, but Aaron Boone has noted that the team is not planning on it.
Although Judge has not been ruled out, Boone described his calf strain as "moderate." Judge told reporters on Wednesday that he was not a fan of that wording and is still planning to be ready for Game 1 on Tuesday, presumably against the Boston Red Sox.
Judge's injury is in the soleus muscle, and coming back too early does pose some risk for reinjury or an even worse injury. However, Judge is more focused on this Yankees team than the future.
"I weigh it like this - we have a great team and we have a great opportunity in front of us," Judge said about how he weighs the risk of coming back early. "The future is not guaranteed, good or bad. My job is to do whatever I can to get back."
Playing through a soleus calf strain can increase the risk of an Achilles injury. Obviously, an Achilles injury would end this season for Judge, but also put next season at risk. He is not worried about coming back too early and doing more damage.
"I'm not a doctor," Judge said. "I don't know what's going to happen. I just know how I feel when I wake up in the morning. I evaluate how I'm feeling and continue to make progress to get back out on the field."
Judge is a competitor and the Yankees captain. He has already missed so much of this season with a rib injury, and is itching to come back and help the Yankees win a World Series. Obviously, the Yankees will not let him play if they feel like he is at risk of a significant injury, but Judge is only focused on putting in the work on his end to be ready.