Aaron Judge hopes to play for New York in playoff opener

Aaron Judge hopes to join the New York Yankees roster for the upcoming matchup against Boston. His planned return follows weeks on the sidelines due to a strained right calf. Judge took live batting practice on the field Monday.

The workout came one day before the postseason begins. Judge walked twice, hit a comebacker and took a called third strike against teammates Ryan Weathers and Elmer Rodríguez.

“I’ve been doing a lot of convincing, I feel like, so I’m going to keep doing that,” Judge said. “The most important thing is just making sure I’m healthy and ready to go for this long stretch. We’ve got another month of baseball to play.”

The 34-year-old outfielder is a three-time AL MVP. He received a platelet-poor plasma injection on Sept. 21. A fractured rib kept him out from May 31 to Sept. 8.

Judge appeared in seven games before his calf injury on Sept. 16. He has not run the bases since that day. He has been training on an AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill.

“He’s making progress. We’ll continue to see where he’s at,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

Speaking at his locker, Judge wore a diamond-and-garnet pendant of a gavel. He did not express worry about returning early from an injury to his soleus muscle. That muscle connects to the Achilles tendon.

“Guys take risks every single day. I know a lot of guys in here are banged up and dealing with stuff,” Judge said. “So, yeah, I understand the risks.”

Judge played in 66 games this season. He hit .241 with 18 home runs and 41 RBIs. He had an .871 OPS. In September, he batted .174 with one home run and three RBIs.

He wants to play defense rather than serve only as designated hitter. Teammate Ben Rice served as the designated hitter in 96 games.

“I’m trying to come back as an outfielder because I think it helps our team the most, but however they see I fit in the best, I am going to try to do that,” Judge said.

This is his 11th major league season. He does not have a World Series title.

“Ten years have gone by since I debuted out here. Time flies and I just think about that more than thinking about age,” Judge said.

Other Roster Decisions

Designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton remains a roster option after calf strains in both legs. He has been out since April 24.

Center fielder Trent Grisham is another possibility. Grisham has missed time since straining his right hamstring on Sept. 4.

Weathers has not pitched in a game since Aug. 22 because of a flexor strain. His addition appeared unlikely after he threw batting practice to Judge, Stanton and Grisham.

“There’s a few roster decisions still that we keep kind of bouncing back and forth, thinking about lineup construction,” Boone said. “So those are still things that I’m wrestling with to some degree. Ultimately, we’ve got to settle on it tomorrow and go let it rip.”

Major league clubs submit official postseason active rosters before each series begins. Teams in New York and across the league carry 26 active players for each round. Managers finalize those lists with front office staff before the first pitch.

The Yankees face the Boston Red Sox in the opening round.