Yankees Wild Card Notes: How close was Aaron Judge to making roster; Giancarlo Stanton's role
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Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided some updates prior to Tuesday's Wild Card Game 1 in the Bronx...
How close was the capt.?
Aaron Judge was grinding his way back from his right calf injury in an effort to get onto the Yankees Wild Card roster, but in the end, he ultimately missed the cut.
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Judge was able to take live batting practice on Monday's off day in the Bronx.
Boone said that the team has been encouraged by what they've seen from him to this point, but after meeting with the training staff, they felt he wasn't there yet.
"Yesterday was a significant step for him, and a sign that he's shown some real improvement over the last couple of weeks," the skipper said. "We had an honest conversation with the trainers last night after the workout, and I just felt like he wasn't quite ready to be what he needs to be for us."
Judge will continue to progress his way back, and the hope is that these next couple of days will be valuable for him if the Yankees are able to advance past the Red Sox into the ALDS.
"He is doing everything he can to get better and heal as quickly as possible," Boone emphasized.
With Judge remaining sidelined, though, New York will lean on trade deadline addition Heliot Ramos to handle the bulk of the playing time in right field against Boston's lefty-heavy pitching staff.
Tuesday will mark the first postseason game of Ramos' five-year big-league career.
"I just want to gain everyone's trust," the outfielder said. "Judge, his presence, the type of player he is, nobody can compare to that -- but at the end of the day, I'm me, I know I'm ready for it and I'm ready to go."
Grish and Big G back in the mix
While Judge wasn't ready to roll, the Yanks will receive two of their regular back for the series.
Both Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham were able to return from their respective injuries after making significant progress in the closing weeks of the regular season.
Grisham, out since Sept. 4 with a hamstring strain, is a full-go.
As for Stanton, Boone said that it's "awesome" seeing the big man back in the mix having been sidelined since late-April due to a calf strain and numerous reaggravations of the injury.
New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (27) tosses his bat after hitting a home run against the San Francisco Giants during the sixth inning at Oracle Park. / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
"It's been a really tough year for G on the injury-front," he explained. "I give him a ton of credit -- after this last setback a month ago he could've just taken his ball and gone home, but he's just never stopped -- even through the frustration of a couple setbacks he's never stopped working to be some kind of option."
Even with all of the down time, Stanton's bat should play, as he's continued hitting throughout the year.
Don't expect to see him out there too too much in this series, though, as he'll likely only be limited to pinch-hit duties with the makeup of the Yanks Wild Card roster.
"It's a bullet off the bench, and it's a pretty dynamic one," Boone emphasized. "He feels ready to go, I know he'll handle the moment mentally and emotionally, and hopefully he has a big swing or two in him."
Stanton's had his share of big swings in his Yankee playoff career, racking up 16 HR and a .939 OPS over the years.
Weathers misses the cut
Like Judge, Boone said that it was a "tough call" to have to leave lefty Ryan Weathers off the WC roster.
Weathers has been making tremendous progress returning from a forearm strain over the past few weeks, and looked healthy throwing his live BP session on Monday.
Boone decided, however, they were better off playing things safe.
"He threw one live going into yesterday, so had he been on this roster he wouldn't have thrown that yesterday, and I felt like we would be really limited with what we have going with 10 pitchers," Boone explained. "I felt like I probably would've had one inning with him in this series.
"So I feel like he needed that next one, and obviously there are no guarantees, but if we are able to advance I feel like he'll be in a good place to really be able to impact us moving forward."
Weathers has been sidelined since late-August due to the forearm flexor strain.