Aaron Judge hasn't played since Sept 16 and sat out the Yankees' wild-card sweep. Will he be in the starting lineup for ALDS Game 1 on Oct 3?
75% of users predicted NO — the community got this one right. 12 predictions cast.
Yankees captain Aaron Judge was left off New York's roster for the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays, missing Game 1 on Oct. 3. Judge had not played since Sept. 16 because of a right calf strain and had already sat out the Yankees' wild-card series. Manager Aaron Boone said Judge was "not quite there yet" in his recovery. The decision came after Judge took live batting practice and ran the bases at Yankee Stadium, but the training staff determined that base-running remained too risky to clear him for the series opener. Trent Grisham, Spencer Jones, Heliot Ramos and Giancarlo Stanton filled out the Yankees' outfield instead.
The calf strain capped an injury-disrupted 2026 season for Judge, who also missed roughly three months earlier in the year with a fractured rib before returning for only a handful of regular-season games down the stretch.
The community largely anticipated this outcome: only 25% predicted Judge would start Game 1, correctly reading the lingering injury concerns after his extended absence from the lineup.