Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Thursday that captain Aaron Judge’s apparent irritation over how his calf injury has been described publicly is simply a sign of the slugger’s determination to get back on the field, not a rift between the two men.
Judge and Boone had appeared to disagree on two points this week. Boone said Tuesday he did not expect Judge to be ready for the start of the wild-card series, only for Judge to say Wednesday that his goal is to play in Game 1. Boone also called Judge’s calf strain “moderate,” a characterization Judge pushed back on, saying he didn’t “know why [Boone] used those words.”
Speaking before the Yankees closed out their series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, Boone downplayed any tension.
“I don’t want to get too much into that [conversation with Judge],” Boone said. “At the end of the day, we’re all in this together. And 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.”
Boone framed what others might read as frustration from Judge as passion, and said the two remain on good terms.
“The bottom line is Aaron and I have always had an amazing relationship and still do and will,” Boone said. “This is about a player that, again, is pouring everything he possibly can into being ready, and we’re going to support that. And when he’s ready, we’ll make a call of when that is based on how he’s doing.”
Judge strained his calf on Sept. 16, just seven games after returning from a rib fracture that had sidelined him for more than three months. He received a platelet-poor plasma injection Monday and remains limited. Boone said the team may not finalize its roster for the wild-card round, set to begin Tuesday and expected to be against the Boston Red Sox, until the morning the series starts.
Boone described Judge’s rehab work in detail, saying the outfielder is using every tool available to speed his recovery.
“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. Doing everything he can to make that as speedy as possible.”
Judge intends to return as a right fielder rather than as designated hitter once he is cleared to play.
