Judge receives injection in ailing calf as playoff availability remains unclear

Yankees slugger Aaron Judge got a platelet-poor plasma shot in his strained right calf, and manager Aaron Boone stopped short of ruling him in or out for the postseason.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge received a platelet-poor plasma injection Monday to treat a strained soleus muscle in his lower right calf, manager Aaron Boone told reporters before Tuesday's doubleheader against Tampa Bay. Boone described the strain as moderate but declined to give a grade.

Judge landed on the 10-day injured list Saturday, two days after leaving a game at Minnesota in the sixth inning for a pinch hitter because of leg discomfort. He initially called the move precautionary, but Boone said symptoms continued and an MRI confirmed the strain.

Judge is eligible to return for Sunday's regular-season finale against Baltimore, though Boone indicated the slugger will do little activity in the coming days. "I'm not expecting it, but I'm not ruling it out either," Boone said of a possible postseason return, noting that typical recovery windows for such injuries range from two to six weeks.

An eight-time All-Star, Judge has been limited to 66 games this season, batting .241 with 18 home runs and 41 RBIs. He had gone 4 for 23 with 13 strikeouts in seven games since coming back Sept. 8 from a broken rib that sidelined him for more than three months.

The Yankees entered Tuesday one loss from elimination in the AL East race, with a wild-card series against Boston set for next week. New York is 41-25 in games Judge has played and 48-41 without him. "That expectation doesn't change with or without him," Boone said of the team's approach.