NEW YORK -- Aaron Judge, after attempting to convince Yankees officials that his calf injury was healed enough for the start of the postseason, is not on New York's roster for the American League Wild Card series against the Red Sox, a source confirmed to ESPN.
Judge has not played since straining his right calf on Sept. 16. It was the three-time AL MVP's seventh game back with the Yankees after missing more than three months with a fractured rib.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said last week that Judge had a "moderate grade" strain and said the team was expecting its captain to be ready for the wild-card series. But Boone did not rule out the possibility and Judge, visibly annoyed by his manager's public handling of his situation last week, remained determined to demonstrate he would be ready.
Judge's effort to persuade team decision-makers advanced to taking batting practice on the field and facing live pitching during Monday's workout at Yankee Stadium.
The YES Network first reported Judge's omission from the Yankees' roster Tuesday.
Judge took a few rounds of swings during batting practice Monday and drove a home run to left-center field with the final pitch he saw. He later took four at-bats against Yankees pitchers -- one against the left-handed Ryan Weathers and three against right-hander Elmer Rodriguez.
Judge then walked off the field without doing any running, his on-field demonstration for club officials complete. From there, team brass weighed whether what they saw was enough for their superstar to occupy a spot on their 26-man roster. They determined it wasn't and decided to move forward without a compromised version of their best player needing to win two of three games against their fiercest rival.
Should the Yankees advance to the AL Division Series, adding Judge to the roster against the Tampa Bay Rays is a real possibility. Game 1 is scheduled for Saturday at Tropicana Field before an off-day Sunday and Game 2 on Monday.
The Yankees could decide to put Judge on the roster against the Rays and keep him out until Game 2 for two more days of recovery. But they must get there first.
The Yankees compiled the second-best record in the AL this season, finishing 93-68 despite Judge playing in just 66 games of their 161 games. They went 41-25 with Judge in the lineup and 52-43 without him.
Judge's absence was impossible to ignore; the Yankees scored about a run fewer a game without the five-time Silver Slugger. They overcame his extended time on the injured list and remained firmly in the postseason picture behind a pitching staff that posted the lowest ERA in the majors.
Judge was not himself for the last six weeks of games he played. He played through his rib fracture, which he suffered in late April, for over a month and watched his numbers tumble dealing with the pain until May 31. He returned on Sept. 8 after missing 99 days and did not resemble the No. 99 that has tormented pitchers over the last decade, going 4-for-23 with 13 strikeouts, one walk and one home run in 24 plate appearances before leaving a game against the Minnesota Twins with the calf strain.