Judge Hit a Homer in His Tryout. The Yankees Left Him Off the Roster Anyway

Aaron Judge did everything he could on Monday to get on the Yankees' wild-card roster. He took batting practice on the field and hit a home run with the last pitch he saw. He faced live pitching for the first time since straining his right calf and took four at-bats.

What he didn't do was run. On Tuesday the Yankees submitted their 26-man roster for the best-of-three series against Boston, and Judge's name wasn't on it.

Without running, Judge couldn't play right field. The Yankees want Ben Rice at designated hitter, and they had already picked a pinch hitter: Giancarlo Stanton, who was activated Tuesday after more than five months out. Stanton strained his right calf on April 24, then had two more setbacks. He has 18 homers and a .926 OPS in 48 career playoff games, and he'll be used only off the bench.

An unusual roster

New York is carrying 16 position players and just 10 pitchers. Center fielder Trent Grisham, out since a Grade 2 hamstring strain on Sept. 4, made it. Lefty Ryan Weathers, who had a 3.60 ERA in 25 starts before a forearm strain in August, did not.

The Yankees have done this before. They went 93-68, second-best in the American League, with Judge playing just 66 games. They were 41-25 with him and 52-43 without him, and they scored about a run less per game when he was out. A rib fracture in late April cost him 99 days, and he'd been back for only seven games when he strained the calf on Sept. 16.

Aaron Boone called the strain "moderate grade" last week and said the team didn't expect Judge back for this round. Judge, visibly annoyed by how his manager talked about it in public, kept trying anyway.

When he could return

If New York beats Boston, Judge could be added for the Division Series against Tampa Bay. Game 1 is Saturday at Tropicana Field, with Game 2 not until Monday, which would give the team two more days if it wants them.

First comes Boston. Game 1 is Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium on NBC, and Game 2 is Wednesday at the same time. It's a rematch of last year's wild-card series, which the Yankees won in three games.