Yankees’ Aaron Judge hoping to return for playoffs

PHOENIX — New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge still hopes to play October baseball this season. It remains to be seen if his body will allow that to happen.

The three-time AL MVP said on Saturday that he has a strained soleus muscle, which is in a lower part of the calf and affects his ability to run. Judge added that he's continuing to throw and will go through as many workouts as possible so he's ready to contribute if he can return.

“I'd like to be back by the postseason,” the eight-time All-Star said Saturday after he was placed on the 10-day injured list, a move retroactive to Thursday. “I've got really no answers for you on any timeline or anything like that.”

Judge is eligible to be activated for the Yankees' regular-season finale on Sept. 27.

He was removed for a pinch hitter in the sixth inning Wednesday during a game at Minnesota because of the discomfort in his leg. Judge said at the time it was a precautionary move, but manager Aaron Boone said symptoms persisted and an MRI showed the strain.

Judge was 4 for 23 with 13 strikeouts and one extra-base hit in seven games since returning last week from a broken rib, which kept him out of the lineup for more than three months. He's played just 66 games this year.

“I’ve dealt with strains before and played through them, but this was kind of in a different spot where it made it a little more difficult, Judge said. ”Definitely frustrated because the ultimate goal was to come back, get a couple games in before the postseason. So it changes it a little bit, but the focus is still the same.”

New York entered Saturday with a 48-39 record in the games Judge has missed this season and a 41-25 mark in games he’s played.

“I'm hoping for the best, but just depends on how the healing goes and what he's able to do as the weeks unfold,” Boone said. “I'm not going to speculate on that. We'll see.”