NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees star Aaron Judge had an injection in his sore right calf, putting his status for the postseason in even more jeopardy.
Before the Yankees faced the Rays in a day-night doubleheader Tuesday, manager Aaron Boone said Judge had a platelet poor plasma injection during the team’s off-day on Monday following its return from Arizona.
Judge was put on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a strained soleus muscle, which is in the lower part of his calf. Boone did not say what grade the strain is but described it as “moderate.”
“We’re planning on him not being a part of that but we’re also at time of the year, you hear all the time with injuries, you give ranges two to four weeks, four to six weeks,” Boone said. “The range is for a reason and a we’re at a point of the year where obviously we push it a little bit if that was in play but that’s a week away. I’m not expecting it, but I’m not ruling it out either.”
Judge is eligible to be activated for the regular-season finale on Sunday against Baltimore but will not do much activity in the next few days.
Judge injured his calf during last Wednesday’s game at Minnesota. The eight-time All-Star was lifted in the sixth inning for a pinch hitter because of discomfort in his leg and said at the time it was a precautionary move.
Boone said symptoms persisted and an MRI revealed the strain.
Judge was 4 for 23 with 13 strikeouts and one extra-base hit in seven games after returning Sept. 8 from a broken rib, which kept him out of the lineup for more than three months.
Judge is hitting .241 with 18 homers and 41 RBIs in just 66 games this year. He hit a long homer on Sept. 14 in Minnesota and had the next game off before straining his calf.
The Yankees entered Tuesday with a 48-41 record in the games Judge has missed and a 41-25 mark in games he has played. New York also began Tuesday a loss away from being eliminated from the AL East race, setting up a second straight wild-card series against the Red Sox next week.
“We’ve played much of the year without him and for the most part, we’ve done a pretty good job,” Boone said. “So guys are used to it. Obviously you always want your best player in the mix, but we understand we’ve got a job to do and an expectation to win. I think that expectation doesn’t change with or without him. We’re expecting to go into the series and know we can beat anyone when we play our game.”
DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 18: Lazaro Montes #99 of the Seattle Mariners rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run to take the lead in the ninth inning during the game between the Seattle Mariners and the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Friday, September 18, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Casey Paul/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
I realize I’m jumping the gun here by six games and the Mariners are not mathematically eliminated yet, but I mean…(/gestures at entire cosmically cursed existence of the Seattle Mariners Baseball Club). This party is all but over. But, I’m going to try and steer the discourse into a more positive direction because, hey, it wasn’t all bad! There were a lot of exciting, fun, emotional, and unique moments in the 2026 Mariners season.
Here are a few of the more obvious ones:
Randy Day (AKA The Day Randy Woke Up and Said “I am going to kill the Cubs myself”)
Just spectacular and it really put an exclamation point on the career season Randy was already having at that point. I hope the Mariners can bring him back, but if not, I will miss him dearly and we’ll always have 2026 Randy, Destroyer of Worlds.
Colt Emerson’s first career walk-off
Before we found out Colt Emerson was playing hurt, boy, he had a great first few weeks in the show. Here he smashes a line drive into right field through the lefty shift and then gets thrashed around a bit by his teammates as tradition dictates. Hope to see more of this next season and lots more, Colt!
The Cal Raleigh 3 dinger game
In what will surely be a sneaky hard trivia question one day, a finally healthy and resurgent Cal Raleigh blasted three home runs against the Phillies in Seattle after enduring months of what can only be called The Worst Season Ever to Follow a 60 Home Run Season. So in a few decades, if you see a trivia question about “What season did Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh hit three home runs in one game?”, just remember it came AFTER his career year in 2025. You’re welcome.
Lazaro Montes hits the longest home run in Safeco Field/T-Mobile Park history
This is probably my favorite because I’m fascinated by this enormous, violent-swing-having lad. This ball landed in the center field concourse, which is a landing spot that was previously unthinkable to just about every Mariners fan who has watched games at our marine layer-drenched stadium since 1999. Maybe it was the warm night air in combination with one of the, uh, “home run-prone” baseballs in the mix combined with a swing that could supply enough wind energy to power a small nation that produced this massive 474 foot blast. Regardless, it happened and it was special. Hope to see many more!
Okay, let’s hear from y’all in the comments!
What was your favorite moment, storyline, or player achievement during the 2026 Mariners season?
Your answers may help fuel nominations for this year’s annual Lookie awards, so let’s see what you got. And don’t worry, there will be plenty more opportunities to doom and gloom about all the things that went wrong in 2026 (someone should write a book about it, honestly), but let’s see those silver linings for now.
CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 03: Logan Henderson #43 of the Milwaukee Brewers pitches during the game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Thursday, September 3, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by George Gaza/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Milwaukee Brewers have the best record in baseball at 98-58. They’ve essentially clinched a bye for the Wild Card round, and it is just a matter of whether or not they will have homefield advantage throughout the entire playoffs.
Or at least, the entire playoffs before they get eliminated.
This is the Brewers’ fourth straight National League Central title, and the eighth time in the last nine years that they’ve made the playoffs. There’s a belief in baseball that if you make the playoffs enough times, eventually, things will break your way, and you’ll win a World Series.
Eventually has yet to come for the Brewers. Not only have they not won the World Series, but they also haven’t even made it there during this run. The closest they came was in 2018 when they lost 4-3 in the NLCS to the Dodgers. Last year, they once again faced the Dodgers in the NLCS, and went down without much of a fight, getting swept. They had homefield advantage in 2025, and all it resulted in was scoring a total of two runs across their two NLCS home games.
After being swept by the Brewers in the regular season series, the Dodgers got the sweep of Milwaukee in the Championship Series! pic.twitter.com/M7n7tvj5PM
Will this year be any different for the Brewers? They seem to have a roster capable of winning it all. They’ve scored the second-most runs in baseball. They have a strong front of their rotation, and a bullpen capable of holding leads.
But they’ve seemed to have the necessary pieces in past years as well, and it hasn’t mattered. Maybe “eventually” simply hasn’t happened yet, or maybe they’re a great regular season team that lacks an extra something for the playoffs?
Opposition research: Logan Henderson
Most of us are familiar with Brewers’ ace Jacob Misiorowski who is very likely to win the NL’s Cy Young award this season. But one star pitcher does not a rotation make, and if the Brewers want any chance of winning a World Series, they’re going to need to get good starts from Mis’ rotation mates.
A good place to start is rookie righthander Logan Henderson. Henderson was called up at the beginning of 2025, and immediately impressed, striking out 29 batters in his first four starts. However, he experienced elbow inflammation which ended up sidelining him for almost the entire season.
After spending most of the early season in AAA, Henderson was recalled to the majors in May and had a string of strong starts before a back strain sent him to the Injured List. Since returning in July, he picked up where he left off. He hasn’t allowed more than three runs in a start and has a 2.51 ERA on the season.
It’s understandable that the Brewers want to be cautious with a promising young pitcher, but it is somewhat concerning that he’s already had two notable injuries in two years. But that might work out in the Brewers’ favor if he’s relatively fresh for the playoffs.
Hating on the Brewers
For a while, it seemed like the Oklahoma City Thunder were following the Brewers’ example as a team that left Seattle only to repeatedly fall short in the playoffs every year. Except the Thunder finally won a title in 2025, something the Brewers have yet to do, and really only came close once – and that was in 1982.
The Pirates have been to twice as many World Series as the Brewers in the last 48 years.
Maybe it’s because they play in a small market, or maybe it’s because of all their past playoff failures. But nobody will view this team as a serious contender until they actually win the World Series.
Remembering a guy who played for both the Phillies and Brewers
After spending his early career with the Braves, Wes Helms was traded to the Brewers. For a second, it looked like Milwaukee might have stolen him when he hit 23 home runs in 2003. But he couldn’t follow up on that success, and after basically being relegated to a bench role over the next two seasons, he left as a free agent after 2005.
Helms had a strong season at the plate as a part-time player with the Marlins in 2006, and the Phillies signed him, hoping he could adequately replace David Bell at third base. Instead, he actually made Phillies fans feel slightly wistful for Bell.
In the end, "David Bell" was too high a projection for Wes Helms’ Phillies career. https://t.co/4s9tMHligL
There was a three-way split of playing time at third base among the 2007 Phillies: Abraham Nunez – who could field, but couldn’t hit, Greg Dobbs – who could hit, but couldn’t field, and Helms, who couldn’t do either. Somehow, the Phillies overcame the black hole at the position to win the NL East.
Realizing they needed a better option, the Phillies signed Pedro Feliz after the season, and released Helms, who went on to spend three seasons as a lousy bench player for the Marlins.
Additional thought about the series
The Phillies seemingly have more to play for this series, as they can still finish as any of the three Wild Card seeds or miss the playoffs entirely. The Brewers will likely be more concerned with getting their team ready for the playoffs.
You’d think that would be an advantage for the Phillies, but it is hard to understand this team much of the time. You don’t want your team to “peak at the wrong time,” but with one week until the playoffs begin, this seems like the right time for heretofore slumping hitters like Brandon Marsh and J.T. Realmuto to get their acts together.
Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen (57) delivers a pitch during a Major League Baseball game against the Houston Astros at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, on September 11, 2026. The Rays defeated the Astros 3-1 to become the first team to clinch a spot in the postseason. (Photo by Kim Hukari/Image of Sport/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 11: Carlos Rodón #55 of the New York Yankees pitches during the game against the New York Mets at Yankee Stadium on September 11, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
This four-game tilt against the Rays in the penultimate series of the season had the chance to be a blockbuster showdown to decide the division. However, the Yankees losing two out of three to the Diamondbacks removed a lot of the jeopardy from this series, New York now needing to sweep just to avoid being eliminated from the AL East title race and depending on a very unlikely collapse from Tampa in their final series of the season to keep the divisional door the slightest bit ajar. All the same, this could be a preview of a prospective ALCS showdown, so I expect both teams to come out firing. The first game of today’s doubleheader is a makeup of the rainout from May 23rd.
Carlos Rodón finds himself in the unexpected position of being on the postseason rotation bubble. Cam Schlittler and Max Fried are seemingly locks which would pit Rodón against Gerrit Cole for that final spot if they roll out a three-man rotation. It almost comes down to a style choice at that point — Rodón walks almost three times as many batters as Cole, but surrenders about half as many home runs per nine. He’s a good choice to start a game against the Rays — in six starts against Tampa with the Yankees, Rodón has a 3.69 ERA and 31.3-percent strikeout rate in 31.2 innings. In 15 starts this season, Rodón is 6-3 with a 2.95 ERA (142 ERA+), 3.69 FIP, and 83 strikeouts in 76.1 innings.
The Rays have a maddening habit of transforming other teams’ castoffs into rotation stars. This season’s example is longtime journeyman Nick Martinez, who had pitched as a swingman the previous four years in San Diego and Cincinnati. Martinez owns the lowest walk rate (3.5-percent) of any qualified starter, using deception and precise command to induce soft contact. He’s technically got a six-pitch mix but usually sticks with sinker, changeup, cutter, and four-seamer. In 29 starts, Martinez is 15-4 with a 2.94 ERA (142 ERA+), 3.98 FIP, and 101 strikeouts in 171.1 innings.
This is more or less the Yankees’ go-to lineup for the rest of the regular season with Aaron Judge on the IL. Heliot Ramos and Spencer Jones are both going to get a lot of run out in the outfield, so it was encouraging to see them both hit home runs against the former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes in their last game. José Caballero gets the start over Ryan McMahon at third and sounded eager to make an impact against the team that traded him to the Yankees at last year’s deadline.
The Rays have their three-headed slugging monster atop lineup and then stack the bottom two-thirds with speed. Junior Caminero is third in MLB with 41 home runs giving him back-to-back 40-HR seasons. Chandler Simpson is MLB’s stolen base leader with 46 and third in batting average at .309, but is the only qualified hitter in baseball without a home run this season.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 20: Jeremy Peña #3 and Yordan Alvarez #44 of the Houston Astros look on in the fifth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Daikin Park on September 20, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Houston Astros/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The final week of the regular season is upon us and the Mariners have one last chance to throw some chaos into the AL West race with a two game series against the Astros. This season has been supremely disappointing, and the team has been frustrating to watch, but these are the last Mariner games we’ll see until next year — and the looming labor lockout by the owners could extend that hiatus even further. Enjoy them.
The Astros were just swept by the Braves this past weekend, dropping them from first place in the division. They’re just a game behind the Rangers and hold the tiebreaker if the two teams should finish with matching records. Between the injuries and ineffectiveness across the pitching staff, the offense — and more specifically, Yordan Alvarez — had been carrying the team through the summer. Unfortunately, the team has scored more than four runs in a single game just once over their last 10 games. It’s a terrible time for a slump.
Player
Position
Bats
PA
K%
BB%
ISO
wRC+
Jeremy Peña
SS
R
456
23.9%
5.3%
0.197
123
Yordan Alvarez
DH
L
663
17.3%
15.8%
0.284
179
Isaac Paredes
3B
R
631
13.5%
10.6%
0.174
127
Jose Altuve
2B
R
545
19.6%
7.3%
0.153
99
Yainer Diaz
C
R
333
15.6%
3.6%
0.168
111
Daulton Varsho
CF
L
526
20.3%
7.4%
0.134
78
Christian Walker
1B
R
608
23.4%
7.9%
0.186
97
Cam Smith
RF
R
542
25.8%
7.2%
0.180
84
Taylor Trammell
LF
L
273
31.1%
9.5%
0.157
84
Yordan Alvarez’s shot at winning the AL Triple Crown looks pretty slim right now. A late season slump, spurred on by a nagging ankle injury, has dropped him to second in the AL in home runs and RBIs. He’d have to have a monster week to have any hope of catching Pete Alonso for the RBI lead; Alvarez trails Alonso by six right now. The other batter who is swinging the bat well right now is Jeremy Peña; he has posted just an 89 wRC+ in September, but he collected 10 hits and three home runs last week. The rest of the lineup is really struggling; Jose Altuve (96 wRC+ in September), Cam Smith (60), Daulton Varsho (42), and Christian Walker (17) are all mired in slumps this month.
For a pitcher with such a long history against the Mariners, it’s been nearly three years since Cristian Javier has pitched against them (his last outing against Seattle came on September 26, 2023). He blew out his elbow early in 2024 and missed most of last year recovering from the resultant Tommy John surgery. At his peak, he leaned heavily on a backspinning four-seamer and a slow sweeper as his primary weapons, essentially acting as a two-pitch pitcher. After his surgery, he’s expanded his repertoire a bit to include a changeup and a cutter. He’s bounced between the rotation and the bullpen throughout this year but it looks like he’s finally found his groove down the stretch; over his last six outings (five starts, one bulk relief appearance) he’s running a 3.77 ERA and a 3.72 FIP.
Pitcher
IP
K%
BB%
HR/FB%
GB%
ERA
FIP
Ethan Pecko
28.2
16.4%
10.3%
12.5%
38.6%
3.77
5.50
George Kirby
169.2
19.9%
6.1%
11.1%
43.8%
4.24
3.85
Pitch
Usage vRHB
Usage vLHB
Velocity
Stuff+
Whiff+
BIP+
xwOBA
Four-seam
21.1%
22.4%
93.5
99
109
123
0.466
Sinker
36.6%
13.5%
92.9
100
136
80
0.300
Cutter
4.6%
27.9%
90.2
98
78
109
0.421
Changeup
0.0%
7.7%
87.1
Curveball
5.7%
17.6%
81.6
98
Sweeper
32.0%
10.9%
82.7
105
The Astros promoted Ethan Pecko in mid-August to take the place of Tatsuya Imai in the rotation. He was the team’s fourth ranked prospect on their preseason list and looked serviceable with a 4.25 FIP in 17 appearances in Triple-A before his debut. His best pitch is his four-seam fastball which has given minor league batters fits when he’s able to locate it at the top of the zone. He has five other pitches in his repertoire but most of his secondary pitches look average at best. He’s got decent command and uses his wide arsenal to keep batters guessing. It’s a back-of-the-rotation profile, but that’s exactly what the Astros have needed this summer. The Astros have used an opener in front of Pecko the last two times his turn has come up in the rotation — I’d expect them to do the same on Wednesday.
The Big Picture:
Team
W-L
W%
Games Behind
Run Diff
Recent Form
Rangers
78-78
0.500
—
-34
W-L-W-W-L
Astros
77-79
0.494
1.0
-59
L-W-L-L-L
Mariners
73-83
0.468
5.0
-56
L-W-W-L-W
Athletics
61-95
0.391
17.0
-223
L-L-L-L-L
Angels
60-96
0.385
18.0
-87
L-W-L-W-L
While the Mariners try to keep the Astros from gaining any ground in the AL West, the Rangers are hosting the Mets.
BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 2: Interim manager Chad Tracy #17 of the Boston Red Sox during the game against the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park on September 2, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Is this remotely surprising? Chad Tracy and the Red Sox have agreed to a three-year deal that will make him the team’s 49th full-time manager, hopefully at least through the 2029 season. At the same time, Red Sox ownership has exercised the 2029 and 2030 options it held on Craig Breslow’s contract, giving him the big chair for at least four more seasons. Given the way this season has played out, the Tracy deal in particular was a foregone conclusion. But you certainly wouldn’t have said that back in June, and the fact that Breslow is being extended today instead of fired is evidence of the team’s remarkable turnaround.
“Craig and Chad are two exceptionally talented leaders who have earned these opportunities in very different ways,” said Red Sox President & CEO Sam Kennedy. “Over the last three years, we have watched Craig bring clarity, discipline, and conviction to the work of building our baseball operation. Chad was asked to step into a difficult situation with little notice, but the trust he immediately commanded at the major league level was earned through years of work across our organization. What this team has accomplished over the past several months has been historic. Results matter greatly in this business, but so do judgment, character, and the ability to bring out the best in others. Craig and Chad have demonstrated all of those qualities, and they have earned our confidence in leading us forward.” (MLB.com)
FSG appears to be hoping to finally achieve some continuity in the front office and dugout with this move, which is something they’ve struggled to find in recent years. “Since Francona and Epstein ended their successful run together in 2011, the Red Sox have had eight manager/baseball operations head combinations, including Ron Roenicke’s one-year stint alongside Bloom in between Cora stints in 2020. The longest of those pairings — the ill-fated Bloom-Cora marriage — lasted fewer than three years during Cora’s second stint, from the start of 2021 to September 2023.” (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
But Tracy and Breslow still have some work to do this year, because the Red Sox offense is seriously scuffling right now. As a team, the Sox are barely hitting above the Mendoza Line over their last 11 games, while averaging fewer than 3 runs scored. Part of that is due to the absence of some key pieces, like Willson Contreras and Ceddanne Rafaela, but lineup mainstays like Wilyer Abreu and Adley Rutschman are fighting slumps, too. “Just got to stay with it,” Chad Tracy said after Sunday’s loss. “Obviously we’ve got to hit and score runs. But we’re getting our way back to health, and we’ll get there.” (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
If the offense doesn’t get going and the Sox get bounced in the first round without playing a single game at Fenway, just like they did last year, does that change the ultimate perception of the job Craig Breslow did this year? Perhaps. Of course the perception of the job he’s done has already changed several times over the past few months, which may be a product of his willingness to shake things up mid-season. “I always try to be guided by what I believe to be right and best for the organization,” Breslow said. “Oftentimes, most people in these jobs would say their initial read or inclination of a situation was largely a correct one, but friction and inertia and emotion prevented you from acting on that. Then, you look back and say I wish I would have done whatever it was you were thinking at the time more often than you say that was probably not the right decision, and I wish I hadn’t.” (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
One of those decisive mid-season moves was the trade of Marcelo Mayer — the man who was once heralded as the future of the Red Sox by the Red Sox themselves — to the San Fransisco Giants for middle reliever Erik Miller. But while the move divided Red Sox fans, his family is thrilled with the trade, as they say Mayer faced undue criticism and even threats from Boston fans. “When his dad found out about the trade to San Francisco, Enrique said he “jumped 10 feet in the air.” ‘I can’t explain how happy we are… Marcelo got a cortisone shot to be ready to come back a month and a half early to help the team in the playoffs and then he gets the rap he doesn’t play in pain? That couldn’t be further from the truth.” (Susan Slusser, San Fransisco Chronicle)
Aaron Judge will almost certainly sit out the New York Yankees' upcoming American League wild-card series due to a calf strain, manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Tuesday, Sept. 23.
Judge missed 75 games this season with a rib fracture and then suffered the calf strain in just his seventh game back Sept. 16 at Minnesota. While the Yankees have fared well enough without him – they head into Tuesday 89-66 and can clinch the No. 1 wild card spot with one more victory – his lineup presence will be greatly missed in the postseason.
The Yankees will likely play the Boston Red Sox for the second consecutive year in an AL wild-card best-of-three that begins Tuesday, Sept. 29.
"We're planning on him not being a part of that," says Boone, who also noted Judge had a platelet-poor plasma injection in the leg.
Aaron Judge injury
Boone told reporters in New York that Judge suffered a "moderate grade" strain of his right calf, which the Vermont Sports Medicine Center defines as the "largest and most variable category" of injury. It falls shy of a Grade III injury which would indicate the calf muscle is torn and almost certainly put Judge out for the entire postseason.
Judge was removed early from the Sept. 16 game in Minnesota. He was working his way back into full playing shape after the extended absence due to his rib fracture.
How will Yankees replace Aaron Judge?
The only silver lining for the Yankees is that they moved aggressively to augment their lineup at the trade deadline due to Judge's original injury. They added both right- and left-handed sluggers in Heliot Ramos and Luis García Jr., with Ramos expected to retain many of the plate appearances Judge might have received in the wild-card series.
Ramos is batting just .172 with a .672 OPS and four home runs in 32 games since his arrival from San Francisco, but he is a former All-Star who hit 22 and 21 home runs in 2024 and 2025.
How will Aaron Judge's injury affect Yankees?
Judge's injury isn't the only one the Yankees have been monitoring. Center fielder Trent Grisham has not played since suffering a hamstring injury Sept. 4. Grisham, who has hit 18 home runs, is not expected to be activated by the end of the regular season, Boone said Sept. 20, but is a possibility to return by the wild-card series.
That would move rookie Spencer Jones out of center field and create an alignment of Grisham and All-Star Cody Bellinger and, likely, a platoon of Ramos and Jones in the third outfield spot. All-Star Ben Rice, whose 39 home runs lead the Yankees, is entrenched in the DH spot, with García and Paul Goldschmidt sharing first base duties.
Will Aaron Judge play in the AL division series?
Should the Yankees advance out of the wild-card series – they are likely to play the Boston Red Sox in the best-of-three shootout for a second consecutive year – the AL division series will begin Saturday, Oct. 3. That would give Judge 17 days of recovery since suffering the calf injury, which would offer no guarantee but obviously enhance the chances.
The AL championship series begins Oct. 12 and the World Series tips off Friday, Oct. 23.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - SEPTEMBER 16: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees looks on after an at-bat against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Target Field on September 16, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Aaron Boone met with the media to shed some light on Judge’s injury status ahead of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Rays.
Boone revealed that he suffered a moderate grade right calf strain that landed him on the 10-day injured list, and the Yankees captain received a PPP (platelet-poor plasma) injection as treatment during Monday’s off day. Unfortunately, according to Boone, this means they’re not planning for him to be available for the upcoming Wild Card Series. They haven’t officially ruled him out, however, but his appearance is becoming less likely by the minute.
This is certainly frustrating news, as we’ve all been eagerly awaiting the front office to be less ambiguous on the subject. They’ve been very communicative about several injuries throughout the season, but when it comes to the Yankees captain, everyone seems to be playing the cards very close to their chest.
The postseason roster is expected to be released early next week, and without Judge, I’m anticipating that Yankees fans will be a lot less hopeful for the best and more prepared for the worst.
The Yankees aren't expecting Aaron Judge to play in the wild-card series.
The Yankees are planning on at least beginning the playoffs without Aaron Judge.
“I’m not expecting it,” manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday regarding whether the Yankees captain could return for the wild-card series that begins in one week. “But I’m not ruling it out either.”
The Yankees aren’t expecting Aaron Judge to play in the wild-card series. Charles Wenzelberg/NY Post
The strain is “moderate,” Boone revealed for the first time, before the Yankees hosted a doubleheader against the Rays.
Boone again did not disclose how long the Yankees are expecting to be without Judge, who has been out since suffering the calf strain on Wednesday and is not doing much right now for a few days, Boone said, because of the injection.
Judge played seven September games in his return from a rib fracture before the calf setback, and the Yankees are operating as if he will not be back for what is expected to be a postseason date with the Red Sox.
“We’ve played much of the year without him, and for the most part, we’ve done a pretty good job, and so guys are used to it,” Boone said. “Obviously you always want your best player in the mix, but we understand we’ve got a job to do and an expectation to win and I think that expectation doesn’t change.
“With or without him, we’re expecting to go into the series and know we can beat anyone when we play our game.”
Tuesday, the Cubs announced details of ticket sales for potential Wild Card Series games at Wrigley Field next week.
Starting tomorrow, Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 10 a.m. CT, Cubs fans can purchase single game tickets through the public on-sale at www.cubs.com/postseason. There is a limit of four tickets per game for the N.L. Wild Card Series, subject to availability, and tickets will be distributed as mobile tickets via the MLB Ballpark app.
If you are looking to purchase tickets to additional potential 2026 postseason games played at Wrigley Field starting with the N.L. Division Series (NLDS), the “Fly the W” presale opportunity is still open and will close Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 11:59 p.m. CT. All registered fans will continue to be eligible for selection to subsequent opportunities available through this program whether selected in a particular drawing or not.
Of course, we hope there are at least two Wild Card games at Wrigley Field next Tuesday and Wednesday. The Cubs currently sit in the top Wild Card position at 87-69, tied with the Padres. The Phillies are one game behind at 85-70.
What happens if those three teams tie for the three Wild Card spots?
For that, we go to MLB’s tiebreaker rules. The first three-way tiebreaker is the teams’ records against each other. The Cubs win that, as they went 11-1 against the Phillies and Padres this year. Thus this is what would happen:
That means, in a theoretical three-way tie for the three Wild Card spots, the Cubs would earn the No. 4 seed. That, in turn, would give them home-field advantage for each game of the Wild Card Series against the No. 5 seed.
With that settled, this simply turns into a regular, old two-team tie for the final two spots. That comes down to head-to-head record, and here we have another lopsided season series. The Phillies went 6-0 against the Padres, sweeping a pair of three-game series between May 25-June 4.
So it’s actually pretty simple. If the Cubs, Phillies and Padres are all tied after Sunday’s games, the Cubs would host the Phillies and the Padres would be the No. 6 seed and face the Braves, who are the third-seeded division winner.
If there’s only a two-way tie between the Cubs and one of Philadelphia or San Diego, the Cubs win both of those as well.
Thus the Cubs can host those games next week if they just take care of business against the Marlins and Red Sox.
As the Mets remade their roster this past offseason, one of the boldest moves was the trade that sent fan favorite Brandon Nimmo to the Rangers for Marcus Semien.
Even with nearly a full season to digest the deal and the reasoning behind it, there are still those who can't quite comprehend why David Stearns pulled the trigger. And the players' baseline stats this year certainly don't make the trade look good in hindsight.
Nimmo, in his age-33 season, is hitting .260/.325/.407 (.732 OPS, 112 OPS+) with 14 home runs and 34 doubles in 149 games for Texas.
Semien, in his age-36 season, is hitting .219/.285/.341 (.626 OPS, 75 OPS+) with 14 home runs and 14 doubles in 134 games for New York.
While this is the simplest way to evaluate the trade, it's also the incorrect way.
When discussing the Nimmo-Semien trade, it's more important to analyze what factored into it (and what's to come) than what the basic offensive results have been for each player in 2026.
Additionally, this should not be viewed as a situation where Semien replaced Nimmo. Yes, it was a one-for-one trade, but it was always more about offloading Nimmo's contract than adding Semien.
Was there some hope that Semien -- coming off a Gold Glove award in 2026 -- would improve New York's up-the-middle defense and perhaps be around a league average hitter? Sure. But this was always a longer play that involved the Mets trotting out a younger, more athletic outfield and not having to deal with Nimmo's contract in 2029 and 2030.
With Nimmo out of the picture, the Mets traded for Luis Robert Jr., who was something of a lottery ticket given his injury history.
That initially allowed them to roll with Juan Soto, Robert, and rookie Carson Bengein the outfield from left to right.
Aug 17, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets right fielder Carson Benge (3) fields a ball in right field during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Citi Field. / Brad Penner - Imagn Images
Unsurprisingly, Robert had an injury-riddled stint in New York before being placed on waivers, paving the way forA.J. Ewing to cement himself as the regular center fielder not just for this season but 2027 and beyond. Ewing has impressed on both sides of the ball, holding his own offensively while displaying elite ability in the outfield.
It's fair to say Ewing wasn't in the Mets' plans from day one of the 2026 season, but he was on the cusp, which makes the decision to trade Nimmo even more understandable.
Then there's Benge.
Following a difficult first three weeks at the plate as he got acclimated to the majors, Benge has been phenomenal.
In 129 games since April 23, Benge is slashing .294/.354/.448 (.803 OPS) with 18 homers, 18 doubles, three triples, and 75 runs scored. With his next stolen base, he will become the first Mets rookie ever (and just the 20th rookie in MLB history) to have a season with at least 20 steals and 20 homers.
His arm, which he has used to unleash throws home in excess of 100 mph, has graded out in the 99th percentile via Baseball Savant. His arm value is in the 100th percentile. His range has been above average. And as the season has gone on, Benge's ability to nail runners trying to advance has become so notorious that they have started to think twice when rounding bases.
Ewing's defense has also been superb, rating in the 90th percentile when it comes to OAA (Outs Above Average) and the 92nd percentile in arm strength.
In a world with Nimmo still on the Mets, there would not have been room for both Benge and Ewing in the outfield unless Soto shifted to a full-time DH role or to a different position.
Jun 24, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets center fielder A.J. Ewing (9) doubles during the seventh inning against the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field. / Vincent Carchietta - Imagn Images
Back to Nimmo...
Even though his offensive production this season has been a bit above average, it is nowhere near where it was during his prime, when he was an on-base machine. His power output is also starting to sag.
His range this season is in the 21st percentile after being in the 41st percentile in 2025 and 66th percentile in 2024.
The value he provides with his arm is in the 5th percentile, which is the worst of his career.
Semien has not performed well during his first season in Queens, and he might not be long for the starting second base job next season.
Semien played through a hip injury earlier this season that impacted his defense, so it's fair to believe he'll be solid or better at second base going forward if he remains healthy. But the offense is a serious issue, with his OPS declining steadily over the last four seasons, from 126 to 103 to 93 to 75.
At the offensive level Semien is at right now, it's impossible to justify his regular presence in the lineup going forward. That could lead to a situation where he's shifted to the bench early next season and is perhaps designated for assignment at some point in 2027 or 2028.
As far as Nimmo, who wouldn't have even had a regular spot on this current iteration of the Mets, it might have been close to impossible to DFA him if he remained in New York and things got bad -- as they very well could during the final two years of his deal or even sooner. A homegrown fan favorite in the twilight of his career is a different consideration than Semien, who just arrived after spending the first 13 years of his career elsewhere.
There are obvious reasons why the Mets chose to go down this road. And even with a potentially badly diminished Semien under contract through 2028, it can easily be argued that it's the better contract to have on the books -- when it comes to this specific Mets team and their needs -- than the Nimmo deal that runs through 2030.
Chris Forbes, Senior Director – Player Development, at Rockies Fest | Kyle Cooper
On Saturday, Chris Forbes, the Colorado Rockies senior director of player development, answered questions for Purple Row. He explained organizational changes he’s seen over the course of the last year, players to watch for in the Rockies system, and how he’ll handle a lockout — if there is one.
Below are a few takeaways from that conversation, which has been lightly edited for clarity.
On what last winter was like
Last year we had a big lift in a hiring cycle, one of the bigger ones I’ve ever gone through. It wasn’t just like we were making that shift in the pitching, so we really needed to find the right guys. We really dove in there.
But when Paul (DePodesta) got hired, it was him and I. Now we’re talking about (Warren Schaeffer). Now we’re talking about Alon (Leichman). Now we’re doing these calls, and then we got (Josh Byrnes) on. Then it was Paul and I and JB, and then they settled on Schaeff coming back. Then there was the four of us doing the interviews for the big league staff.
Once we kind of got that in place with (Matt) Daniels and the three new pitching guys up there, it was important to get Owen Cuffe and Geoff Brown and some of the pitching guys down.
Then we started having to fill in the minor-league guys. We let go of five guys last year. I had three other guys like (Scott) Oberg who couldn’t come back, Tony (Wolters) who couldn’t come back, and a guy named Dave Keller, who ultimately stepped away, too.
And then I had three additional guys promoted to big league staffs, and Dino and you know Doug Bernier was our field coordinator last year, and Jordan Pacheco.
So now the hiring goes into “Okay, we’ve really got to focus here.” Then we hired Brett Pill. So now we’re involving Brett Pill in interviewing, like, Pacheco. And then Brett Pill in interviewing a guy that we hired in Triple-A, who’s been fantastic, Matt Schneider. It just went to Google-esque buckets of interviews.
We hired our last guy in April, Gary Templeton Jr. He’s in Fresno. He didn’t get any spring training because you’re trying to do interviews during camp.
Last year was pretty chaotic. I’m looking forward to 2026 being over.
You don’t know how it was going to go.
We needed to make changes. We just didn’t know who we were going to bring in at the time. We were involved in a bigger group with the GM interviews, too, which I think was just Walker (Monfort) and Dick (Montfort) setting up a scenario where we could kind of get to know and ask questions.
So it was pretty busy.
On what changed with the new front office
It actually hasn’t changed much at all as far as the day-to-day stuff.
It’s changed — you navigate how the communication is going to go. What’s my first phone call? On the days where you’re talking with Tommy Tanous, or am I talking to Paul? — just kind of the updates on that. Truly, he’s probably been able to expound some of the stuff we wanted to do.
There’s quite a bit more openness and curiosity. These type of programs where you’re able to challenge kids in a certain way and grow them a certain way and make sure they get individual skill stuff and all of it. So it’s actually probably opened up more because they’re curious guys. I think it’s been pretty positive in that aspect of it.
But it’s kind of the same gig. So the same-late night phone calls or controlled chaos.
On what his week looks like
Mondays are my favorite day because nobody’s playing, except for, typically, the Arizona Complex League team.
I touch base with Dan Meyer, our pitching coordinator, every day. You just double check. What did we see last night? Does he need a day? Just trying to be hyper-aware of who needs (what). Can we unplug it for a couple weeks? Like sending (a player) down to Owen Cuffe here in the performance lab, and being very aware of the innings and how many pitches he threw, and how the leverage innings or the high-intensity innings and how that went.
And then, whether it’s coordinators, depending on where they’re at, or managers.
I travel probably three weeks a month. So in and out of Denver, to the affiliates, just kind of make a rotation.
Certain guys, maybe you prioritize that you’d like to see. Sometimes it’s just touch points with the staff and touch points with players.
And then I think the worst nights I have are the latest nights are when, say, I’m in Hartford we’re done. We’re back in the hotel — because you get to the field at like 12:30 or 1:00, and there’s the game, and then we debrief to the game, post-game stuff. And if the team is playing West, like West Coast, then you’re just kind of waiting that out just in case something happened, or we need to get somebody on a flight.
So during the season, it’s pretty chaotic. The phone rings a lot.
On his impressions of this year’s draft class
I think what was intriguing was kind of the talking through and listening to the strategy that they were putting in place for the draft, and talking about guys, like what they do and how they can do it, and what we needed to work on right away.
“Okay, if we get this guy immediately during mini camp, let’s start putting this in play.”
That was kind of intriguing. We used to have what was called a “30-day Rule” that I had to abide by, and for 30 days, you’re just getting to know the player. Well, now you’re getting another player, but we can actually start making some hay. And I think that was probably the most intriguing thing.
So early on, you look at each one of these guys and certain growth opportunities for them: the work ethic, the personality. I’m starting to see some personality with some of these guys, and that’s been fun. They’re starting to come out.
Like mini camp, they’re all quiet, and I’m not a quiet guy. And then you start to get them out here in the day to day, and obviously we were able to get some guys up to Fresno. Got Lorenzo Carrier up to Spokane, but getting them now back down in the scenario with, really, a finer focus on 45 guys that we have and what they do and how they mix in with us. I think that’s key, too.
So it’s been pretty intriguing because there’s guys like like Logan Reddeman (No. 9 PuRP) through his bullpen today. You’re not going to get (him) on a game mound, but you just see, “Okay, he does this, this, and this.”
You start to get in on the maturity piece, and is he a guy that we can put right into Spokane next year? How do you split up the two priority catchers, which we have both, and they’ve got these massive bucket of strengths, and then the areas that we’re working on them with.
So it’s exciting.
And then, we’re going to get a kid named Tyler Bell (No. 4 PuRP) back. I think that’s gonna be an exciting part.
But there seems to be a lot of depth in what they did in the draft. Some of the pitching, we’re getting to know a little bit more on where to refine, and they’re going in their first off season, which is always kind of a nervous time. Some some college guys can go a little too quick out of the gate, but I think we’ve set up that trust in the communication piece that it’s going to be really regimented between you know Daniels and Dan Meyer and Cuffe and a lot of check-ins with our affiliate guys.
On the possibility of a lockout
I think we’re we’re A, B, and C.
There’s Plan A: status quo. Here’s Plan B if this happens. Here’s Plan C if this happens.
Because you just don’t know. I preach to our players about staying present all the time, and I’ve said that to the staff. “Don’t don’t assume it’s gonna lock out.” I’m not gonna read through all the posturing that these guys do. That’s just not my role. It’s just a “Say what you mean” kind of thing.
And I think you just plan it out the best you can. How does spring training look we go first, if they go later, etc? I don’t know how it’s going to look.
There’s certain guys that are no secret, and that’s where Roldy Brito (No. 3 PuRP). I think because of the year when he went out and what we were dealing with a little inflammation in the knee.
I don’t think Wilder Dalis (No. 10 PuRP) got near enough. He’s a good baseball player. So you’ve got some Latin guys like that.
You got some new guys. You’re going to get Ethan (Holliday) (No. 1 PuRP). You’re going get Antoine Jean (No. 46 PuRP) back — we lost in the second inning with his first start. You’re going to get guys like Daniel Jackson (No. 12 PuRP) out for the first full season, and I love the way he plays already because it’s like a catcher with speed, and it’s almost like a running-back aggressiveness.
And there’s guys that I think have to fit. I always kind of talk about the expectation piece of “How do you weigh (a player)?”
Like somebody asked me about Roc Riggio (No. 13 PuRP), and I said, “I think Roc’s an intriguing player.” As a manager, you want guys like Roc, but you can’t have Roc playing every day. You can’t have Ryan Ritter playing every day. That’s not what first division clubs—they’ve got those guys playing every day. But then you’ve got a guy of that type of pedigree or instinctualness on the baseball field that he can come in and help the team. Or if somebody’s down for two days, you don’t feel like you’re missing that much of a beat.
The year that Jackson Cox (No. 11 PuRP) had, still really under that minor-league rehab umbrella for a while, and then coming up to getting the year in Spokane, and still a young kid.
Jack Mahoney (No. 15 PuRP), we dealt with a couple things with Jack where he had just a little inflammation, and we took the opportunity, “Okay, we’re gonna unplug you. We’re gonna get you down a lab and do some pitch design with Cuffe.” And man, how he navigated the Eastern League after that was just phenomenal.
Those are some guys to be excited about, but the pitching really took a hit.
—
The center fielder for the ACL team, Cristian Arguelles (No. 5 PuRP). I mean, he’s everything that you want out of a young prospect. Because there’s also this persona. I used to say when I back years ago when I was scouting, where you would get there, and you watch guys get off the bus. You see that guy, you’re like, “Ooh, I hope that’s a guy.” That’s how he is. There’s something about him for 18 or 19 years old. He’s obviously very much a guy to be excited about.
Closing thoughts
Chris Forbes is always a terrific interview: He knows the Rockies farm system like few people do, and he understands baseball.
I was struck by the fact that he was a key part of the hiring process when Walker and Dick Monfort were determining the front office staff, and I didn’t really put together how much very fast work went into the Rockies hiring in the offseason.
Also, I am glad I don’t have his job. It’s hard enough for us here in the Mountain Time Zone to keep up with West Coast games. I can’t imagine doing that from Hartford.
And I appreciated the players he told us to watch for. We’ll have more on them in the coming days.
Forbes also discussed the Rockies approach to the Arizona Fall League, so look for that in a future story.
Major League Baseball’s postseason rapidly is approaching, with the Los Angeles Dodgers seeking a third straight World Series title. It remains to be seen how much some of the game’s biggest stars will be able to participate in the playoffs, though.
The Dodgers are once again among the best teams in the big leagues, and they’ll have several challengers in October, including the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays. All three teams could finish the regular season with 100 wins or more. Los Angeles is rolling even though four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani’s health is a concern.
The New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves also have clinched spots in the postseason. Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, a three-time AL MVP, is dealing with a right calf strain that will keep him on the injured list until at least the final day of the regular season.
While the 12-team playoff field appears mostly set, there are a few long-shot contenders for the postseason, and specific matchups are in flux.
Here’s some of what to watch as the season comes to a close.
AL race is murky while NL is more defined
There’s quite a bit of mediocrity in the AL Central and West divisions this season, which has led to some fascinating pennant races and could lead to a sub-.500 team making the postseason.
The Cleveland Guardians (81-75) have a narrow advantage over the Chicago White Sox (80-76) in the AL Central while the Texas Rangers (78-78) are just ahead of the Houston Astros (77-79) in the AL West.
Over in the National League, the playoff bracket is close to set.
The Chicago Cubs (87-69), San Diego Padres (87-69) and Philadelphia Phillies (86-70) are jockeying for position in the wild-card race but almost certainly will make the postseason. The only team within shouting distance is the Arizona Diamondbacks (82-74), who are four games back.
MVP races, stats to watch
MLB’s major awards probably won’t have much drama this season.
Both MVP races have strong favorites with Chicago’s Pete Crow-Armstrong running away with the NL honor while Houston’s Yordan Alvarez is the probable choice in the AL, though Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero also has had a fantastic season. Alvarez still has a shot at a rare Triple Crown. He leads the AL in batting average at .313 but his 40 homers are one behind Caminero and his 99 RBIs are nine back of Baltimore’s Pete Alonso.
For the Cy Young Award, Milwaukee flame thrower Jacob Misiorowski and New York ace Cam Schlittler are the favorites in the NL and AL, respectively.
The Rookie of the Year races also look set with Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart and his 110-RBI season the leader in the NL and Detroit’s Kevin McGonigle the favorite in the AL.
What is the MLB playoff format?
There are 12 teams that qualify for MLB’s postseason, including six teams from both the AL and NL. The three division winners in each league get seeds No. 1 through No. 3, ranked by win-loss record. Then the three wild-card teams get seeds No. 4 through No. 6, also ranked by win-loss record.
The top two teams with the best record in both the AL and NL automatically advance to the Division Series. The other eight teams play in the Wild Card Series, which is a best-of-three format beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 30. In both the AL and NL, the No. 6 seed will travel to face the No. 3 seed while the No. 5 seed goes to No. 4. The higher seed hosts all three games.
The winners then advance to the best-of-five Division Series, followed by the best-of-seven League Championship Series and a best-of-seven World Series between the winners of the AL and NL.
What is the MLB postseason schedule?
Wild Card Round: Sept. 29-Oct. 1 (NBC/Peacock)
Division Series: Oct. 3-10 (AL on TBS, NL on FOX/FS1)
Championship Series: Oct. 11-20 (AL on TBS, NL on FOX/FS1)
World Series: Oct. 23-31 (FOX)
Who are the favorites to win the World Series?
The Dodgers (+220) are the favorites to capture a third straight World Series title while the Brewers (+600), Yankees (+800) and Rays (+800) are viewed as the top contenders.
Yankees star right fielder Aaron Judgeis not expected to play in the team's Wild Card series against the Boston Red Sox that begins next Tuesday, manager Aaron Boone said in a news conference Tuesday morning.
Judge sustained a right calf strain in the Yankees' extra-innings loss to the Minnesota Twins Sept. 16 and was placed on the 10-day IL (retroactive to Sept. 17) three days later, rendering him inactive until at least the Yankees' regular season closer against the Baltimore Orioles on Sept. 27.
Boone did not rule Judge's postseason participation out completely but added that he received a platelet-poor plasma (PPP) injection Monday for the strain, which Boone described as "moderate," per SNY's Chelsea Janes. Because of the injection, New York's captain is also expected to limit activity altogether over the next few days.
Judge, 34, had just returned from a three-month stint on the IL due to a fractured rib eight days before injuring his calf. In his comeback game against the Colorado Rockies Sept. 8, he was held to zero hits (two strikeouts) in three at-bats.
“You feel things every single year,” Judge said on Saturday, voicing his frustration with getting reinjured. “I usually deal with calf stuff all year long. It usually doesn’t get to [the media], and I usually don’t miss any games, so that was kind of the same thing I was feeling. I was working my way back, and then something kind of grabs you at a strange time.”
At that point, he was hopeful to return by the time the playoffs begin.
“I’d like to be back by the postseason,” Judge said. “That’s definitely the plan. [It’s the] 10-day IL, so the 10th day is probably the last game of the season. So we’ll see. I’ve got really no answers for you on any timeline or anything like that.”
During Tuesday's news conference, Boone also gave an update on pitcher Clarke Schmidt, who underwent testing on his right bicep after experiencing tightness during warmups Sunday.
"It looks like he's in a pretty good spot," Boone said. "He will play catch today to see how available he can be."
Ahead of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Yankees sit six games behind the Rays in the race for the division title with seven to go. The Rays also own the tiebreaker.
