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Aaron Judge takes another step toward potential Yankees playoff return

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Joyce, G. (2026, October 1). Aaron Judge takes another step toward potential Yankees playoff return. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/30/sports/aaron-judge-takes-another-step-toward-a-yankees-playoff-return/

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New York Post · collected 2026-10-01 · by Greg Joyce

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Story summary

Aaron Judge was notably absent from pregame player introductions on Tuesday ahead of Game 1 of the AL wild-card series between the Yankees and Red Sox. Manager Aaron Boone explained that Judge, dealing with a right calf strain, was receiving treatment during this time. Despite his absence, Judge made it to the dugout in time for first pitch. On Wednesday, Judge was not seen at Yankee Stadium, fueling speculation about his potential return for the ALDS. The Yankees' manager suggested that some injured and nonroster players like Ryan Weathers, Fernando Cruz, Tim Hill, and Michael Fulmer were also absent from introductions on Tuesday, possibly to support Judge's efforts in rehabilitating. This absence and subsequent activities indicate Judge’s commitment to recovering and potentially joining the team for playoffs if they advance.

Written for “Aaron Judge Injury Update” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Aaron Judge Injury Update
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 23% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 10 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different events involving separate players and do not focus on the same specific incident.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 3 of 34 claims Outlet record 64/100
“Article A discusses Aaron Judge's absence and his efforts to return for the playoffs, while Article B announces that he is officially left off the roster for the AL Division Series due to a calf injury.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 6 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different time periods and steps Aaron Judge takes to prove his health, with Article A focusing on pregame activities for Game 1 of the AL wild-card series, while Article B discusses potential future actions if the Yankees reach the ALCS.”
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 4 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses Aaron Judge's efforts and absence during the AL wild-card series, while Article B focuses on his exclusion from the Yankees' roster for the ALDS after they won the wild-card series.”
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 8 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different stages of Aaron Judge's recovery and his attempts to return for the playoffs, not a single incident.”
Fox News
Hedges 12 of 28 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles discuss different stages of Judge's injury recovery timeline and his efforts to return for the postseason, not a single specific incident.”
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 19 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different stages of Aaron Judge's injury recovery and his absence from games, not a single specific incident.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss Aaron Judge's efforts to return for Yankees' postseason games, they describe different aspects of his recovery and team updates on different days.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 3 of 20 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles refer to different time periods and outcomes related to Aaron Judge's potential return, with Article A discussing his absence before Game 1 of the AL wild-card series on October 1st, while Article B discusses his status for the AL Division Series starting on Saturday, October 7th.”
New York Post
Hedges 3 of 25 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different stages of Aaron Judge's recovery process for the AL wild-card series, with Article A covering his status two days before Game 1 and Article B discussing updates on the same day as Game 1.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
23%
5 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-01 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15208 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Greg Joyce
60 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Except in practical terms for the Yankees, it will be crammed into the next month before the sport is expected to shut down because of a lockout.
🔮 Whether the two will finally match up again to allow him to be any kind of contributor for the Yankees in 2027, though, remains very much in question, setting up a $15 million decision. Access the Yankees beat like never before Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees. Try it freeAfter three separate calf strains sidelined him for five-plus months and relegated him to a pair of pinch-hit at-bats in October, the soon-to-be 37-year-old DH entered the offseason healthy.
🔮 Pitching coach Matt Blake and the team are in the midst of negotiating a new contract and moving toward a deal, The Post’s Joel Sherman reported Friday, which would ensure that the Yankees hang on to one of the best at his job in the game.
🔮 Some Yankees bosses may have been irked by Aaron Judge questioning whether they have gone all in enough, but Hal Steinbrenner insists he was not one of them.
🔮 After another disappointing playoff exit, Boone is coming back for a 10th season as manager next year, with Cashman also expected to return for his 30th season as general manager on a new contract.
🔮 The current president of baseball operations for the Mets was the top decision-maker for the Brewers (as general manager and then president of baseball operations) from September 2015 through October 2022, then spent the following year in an advisory role to ownership before landing in Queens. Access the Mets beat like never before Don’t miss Mike Puma’s text messages from Queens and beyond — he’s giving Sports+ subscribers the inside buzz on the Mets. Sign up NowDuring that time, through amateur drafts, international signings and trades, Stearns helped build the foundation of the roster that just swept the Dodgers in the NLCS and will play in the organization’s first World Series in 44 years.
🔮 Boone also dropped Spencer Jones — the Yankees cleanup hitter in each of the prior three playoff games — down to batting eighth in the lineup, the lowest he has hit against a right-hander since May 19 (facing Dylan Cease).
🔮 He may have more talent and tools than almost any other player on the roster, most notably his speed, athleticism and power, but the Yankees have not been able to get that out of him regularly enough, especially this year.
🔮 McMahon has not brought much offensively and then committed a fielding error on the first ball put in play in the bottom of the first inning on Saturday night at Tropicana Field, the first of four the Yankees would make in Game 2.
🔮 “So there would’ve been a right-hander I would have used at some point had we gotten runners on base, but by the time he was in the game it was 5-1.
Also by Greg Joyce
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 60 articles by Greg Joyce →

Topics

ALDS Game 1 Post Sports+ for Yankees the Red Sox

Subjects

Judge PERSON · 8× Yankees ORG · 7× Boone PERSON · 6× García PERSON · 2× Goldschmidt PERSON · 2× Greg Joyce PERSON · 2× Rice PERSON · 2× the Red Sox ORG · 2× Aaron Judge PERSON · 1× Post Sports+ for ORG · 1×

Narrative

Judge’s absence — during which at least some of the injured and nonroster Yankees players were introduced, like Ryan Weathers, Fernando Cruz, Tim Hill and Michael Fulmer — stoked speculation that either his first time running in the outfield earlier Tuesday did not go well, or this was his way of showing his displeasure with not being on the roster despite trying his best to make it.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-01
🔮 Aaron Boone indicated that Judge was getting treatment on his right calf strain during Tuesday’s player intros, when the three-time MVP likely would have gotten one of the loudest ovations from the crowd at Yankee Stadium.
2026-10-01 · New York Post
Aaron Judge takes another step toward potential Yankees playoff return · mixed framing

Claims (22 extracted, 5 hedged)

Aaron Judge was notably missing from pregame player introductions Tuesday ahead of Game 1 of the AL wild-card series, then was out of the state altogether Wednesday afternoon. asserted
Judge → miss → state
There was an explanation for both — the latter perhaps more solid than the former — and both had to do with the Yankees captain desperately trying to make it back in time for the ALDS, assuming his teammates can get there. asserted
teammates → be → ALDS
Aaron Boone indicated that Judge was getting treatment on his right calf strain during Tuesday’s player intros, when the three-time MVP likely would have gotten one of the loudest ovations from the crowd at Yankee Stadium. asserted
MVP → indicate → Stadium
“I didn’t even know until it happened, but I think a couple of the injured guys weren’t involved in it,” Boone said Wednesday afternoon. asserted
Boone → know → it
“I think he was getting treatment stuff.” asserted
he → think → stuff
Judge’s absence — during which at least some of the injured and nonroster Yankees players were introduced, like Ryan Weathers, Fernando Cruz, Tim Hill and Michael Fulmer — stoked speculation that either his first time running in the outfield earlier Tuesday did not go well, or this was his way of showing his displeasure with not being on the roster despite trying his best to make it. asserted
this → introduce → it
But an injury setback seemed to be snuffed out by the fact that Wednesday afternoon, Judge was in Somerset to take live at-bats with the Yankees’ stay-ready group — his second time facing live pitching in three days — with the pitchers there including Luis Gil, Eli Morgan and Justin Topa, among others. asserted
Judge → seem → others
He was expected to be back in The Bronx for Game 2 against the Red Sox. asserted
He → expect → Sox
Boone claimed he did not know whether Judge was scheduled to run the bases in Somerset, which he would likely need to do to be cleared to return as their right fielder for the ALDS. asserted
he → claim → ALDS
“I think it’s been encouraging that a couple nights ago [Monday] for the workout he was able to get out there for live BP,” Boone said. asserted
Boone → think → BP
“Again, that wasn’t just, he’s just going out for live BP. asserted
he → go → BP
He had to check a lot of boxes for the trainers and the strength guys to say, ‘OK, you’re ready for that, you can go do that.’ asserted
you → have → that
“So I feel like in the couple weeks since the injury, he’s made real strides and significant improvements. asserted
he → feel → strides
And hopefully we’re in a position to make another decision in a couple of days.” asserted
we → ’re → days
Thank you While Boone said it was “too early to tell” whether Judge might be ready in time for a potential ALDS — Game 1 is Saturday against the Rays — a complicating factor is that playing on the turf at Tropicana Field can be unforgiving to players dealing with soft-tissue leg injuries. uncertain
playing → thank → injuries
“I mean, I guess that could [complicate things], but we’ll see where we are and hopefully making that decision in a couple days,” Boone said. uncertain
Boone → mean → days
It is possible the Yankees could carry Judge on their ALDS roster to serve as a DH, but even he has acknowledged that it would be best for the team if he can return as a right fielder because of the logjam at DH/first base involving Game 1 hero Ben Rice, Luis García Jr. and Paul Goldschmidt. uncertain
he → carry → Rice
New York Post may be compensated and/or receive an affiliate commission if you buy something through our links. uncertain
you → compensate → links
As it is, Boone had García on his bench to start Game 1 against Red Sox lefty Payton Tolle, with Rice DHing and Goldschmidt at first base. asserted
Rice → have → base
Adding Judge into that mix would mean Rice starting at first base every game and relegating both García and Goldschmidt to pinch-hitting opportunities. asserted
Rice → add → opportunities
The Yankees are currently carrying Giancarlo Stanton strictly a pinch hitter after he missed five months with three separate calf strains, but they have the flexibility to do so because their roster for this three-game series features 16 position players and 10 pitchers. asserted
roster → carry → players
For the ALDS, they may have to add at least two pitchers, which means removing two position players, further blurring the picture. uncertain
which → have → picture
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