NEW YORK -- Yankees manager Aaron Boone on Thursday said he spoke with Aaron Judge after the star outfielder expressed displeasure over Boone's description of his calf strain to reporters and emphasized that the two "have always had an amazing relationship" in their nine seasons together.
Boone on Tuesday said Judge was dealing with a "moderate grade" strain and that he didn't expect the three-time MVP to be ready for next week's wild-card series, though he didn't rule out the possibility.
On Wednesday, before the Yankees faced the Tampa Bay Rays, Judge told ESPN he plans to be available for the start of the postseason. After the game, Judge, when asked whether it's realistic for him to be ready for Game 1 of the wild-card series Tuesday with a strain that severe, said he didn't "know why [Boone] used those words" to describe his situation.
"I don't want to get too much into that, but at the end of the day we're all in this together," Boone said. "And [we're] trying to get, in his case, trying to get him right and get him healthy so he can be an option for us here at some point. But we're also going to listen to the injury. I see it as just a passionate player that's doing all he can to get back for his teammates."
Judge, 34, said he suffered the injury Sept. 16 in his seventh game back after sitting out more than three months because of a fractured rib. An MRI on Thursday revealed the strain. He was put on the injured list Saturday and told reporters that he strained the soleus muscle in his calf. But he and the club offered few other details until Boone called it a moderate grade strain Tuesday.
Judge is eligible to return from the injured list for the final game of the regular season Sunday, but he confirmed Wednesday that won't happen. He received a PPP injection Monday. Boone on Thursday said Judge resumed physical activity but has yet to take any swings since sustaining the strain.
"He's doing all the things in the training room, all the modalities that you can take advantage of," Boone said. "He's moving on the treadmill, things like that. Doing the different exercises to get the calf healed, and doing everything he can to make that as speedy as possible."
Judge went 4-for-23 with 13 strikeouts, one walk and one home run in 24 plate appearances after returning from his fractured rib without going on a rehab assignment. On the season, he batted .241 with 18 home runs and a .871 OPS in 66 games, which includes playing with the fractured rib for over a month until late May.
After two historic MVP campaigns, it has been a frustrating year, one the Yankees captain hopes he can finish on the field in October with his first World Series title.
"I see a guy that is working his tail off to get back," Boone said. "Judgy is the ultimate teammate, the ultimate competitor. [He feels] a responsibility to this team and I know he's doing everything he possibly can to be an option for us and I completely appreciate that. And [I] love the player, love the person."
