NEW YORK -- Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he does not expect to have Aaron Judge available for the Wild Card series next week, though he did not completely rule out the star right fielder recovering from his calf strain in time to play.
"We're planning on him not being a part of that," Boone said Tuesday before the Yankees hosted the Tampa Bay Rays for a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees will host the Boston Red Sox in the Wild Card series for the second consecutive year. They split Tuesday's day-night doubleheader with the Rays, winning the first game 2-0 behind eight scoreless innings from Carlos Rodón before the Rays clinched the American League East title with a 6-1 win in the nightcap.
Judge was placed on the injured list with a right calf strain Friday, two days after exiting a game against the Minnesota Twins with the injury. Judge and the team declined to specify the severity of the injury through the weekend. On Tuesday, Boone labeled it a "moderate grade" strain. He said Judge received a PPP injection Monday and will avoid physical activity over the "next couple days."
"You hear all the time with injuries, we get ranges," Boone said. "Two to four weeks, four to six, all these things. There are ranges for a reason, and we're at a point in the year where obviously we push it a little bit if that was in play. But that's a week away so I'm not expecting it, but I'm not ruling it out either."
Judge, 34, sustained the injury in his seventh game back after missing more than three months with a fractured rib. The three-time MVP returned without going on a rehab assignment and went 4-for-23 with 13 strikeouts, one walk, and one home run in 24 plate appearances. He is likely to finish his injury-plagued campaign with a .241 batting average, 18 home runs and an .871 OPS in just 66 games after two historic MVP seasons.
The Yankees are 41-25 in games Judge played this season and 49-42 in games he didn't play.
"We have a lot of talent in this locker room and we have a lot of depth," said Yankees left fielder Cody Bellinger, who delivered a two-run home run in Tuesday's win. "I think a lot of different guys have stepped up, whether it's their first year in the big leagues or getting traded or whoever. We've had a lot of guys come in, step up, and continue playing winning baseball."
Heliot Ramos started in right field in both games Tuesday, giving him five straight starts since Judge's absence. Spencer Jones is another option to play right field in the postseason should Trent Grisham, who is on the injured list with a hamstring injury, return to play center field.
One player the Yankees did get back from the injured list is Jazz Chisholm Jr. The infielder was activated before the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader and went 1-for-3 with a walk. Chisholm had been out with a sprained thumb he hurt sliding into second base in a Sept. 8 game against the Colorado Rockies.