New York Yankees outfielder and multiple-time MVP Aaron Judge is questionable for the Wild Card round, and the Yankees have a few other key injuries to manage as well. In addition to Judge, Giancarlo Stanton is dealing with a calf injury, Trent Grisham has a hamstring problem and left-hander Ryan Weathers has a forearm injury. Judge is clearly the biggest miss of the four of them, as he has been the best player in the American League since the beginning of the 2020s.
He has three MVP awards in that time, and he had an OPS north of 1.000 in each of the four seasons prior to 2026. He went down with injury early in the year after suffering a stress fracture in his ribs before returning at the beginning of September, but only remained healthy for a couple of weeks before suffering a calf strain towards the middle of the month. On the year, Judge has 18 homers and 41 RBIs in 66 games, posting an .871 OPS.
Manager Aaron Boone revealed Monday that Judge has a moderate strain, and that the plan is for him to rest during the Wild Card round — though he didn't rule out Judge's involvement at some time during the series. Stanton missed the majority of the 2026 season with a calf strain, moving to the injured list towards the end of April. He struggled to produce during his 24 games this year, hitting just three homers and driving in 14 runs on the year.
He has slowly worked his way back this season, and is doing drills on the field and taking batting practice with the postseason nearing. Boone, over the past week, has said several times that Stanton is near a return — though his status for the Wild Card round isn't yet confirmed. Grisham played significantly more than Stanton this season, appearing in 121 games for the Yankees.
He hit 18 homers and drove in 59 RBIs, though his OPS sits at just .703 on the season. The outfielder has dealt with a hamstring issue since June, most recently landing on the injured list for the problem Sept. 5. Similarly to Stanton, Boone has been alluding to a near return for Grisham over the past week, meaning he could very well command a spot on the postseason roster.
Weathers suffered a flexor strain in August, but had a pretty productive season on the mound prior to that point. He posted a career-best 3.60 ERA on the year through 25 starts, pitching a career-high 137.1 innings while striking out 143 batters. Weathers threw a live batting practice session last week, and could potentially throw again Monday, per Boone.
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