Steve Phillips doubts Judge’s ALDS return, calls September activation a mistake

Steve Phillips doubts Aaron Judge will play for the Yankees in the American League Division Series against Tampa Bay and says New York made a mistake bringing him back last month without a minor league rehab assignment.

Asked on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Unleashed on Friday, October 2, whether he expected Judge to play, Phillips replied: “I don’t know. I really don’t.” He cited the lack of baserunning, saying “he hasn’t run the bases yet.”

His criticism of the September decision concerned Judge’s return from a fractured rib on September 8. Judge played seven games before straining his right calf on September 16 and has not played since.

“He also was upset when they didn’t want to activate him in September without a rehab assignment, sort of forced their hand, and it was a mistake,” Phillips said.

“It was a mistake. He should not have been activated.”

Phillips questioned whether Judge’s calf could handle the abrupt stops and changes of direction required on the bases. He said jogging in the outfield was different from running toward second, stopping when a ball was caught and turning back toward first.

The Yankees had not decided Judge’s ALDS availability Friday. Manager Aaron Boone said he was unsure whether Judge had run the bases and indicated that doing so was not necessarily a prerequisite for making the roster.

“Sometimes running the bases, they replicate things in other ways,” Boone said, according to ESPN’s Jorge Castillo. Judge has been facing live pitching this week.

New York must submit its 26-man roster by 10 a.m. EDT Saturday, 8 a.m. MDT, according to The Associated Press. The series opens October 3 at Tropicana Field, with Game 1 scheduled for 6:30 p.m. EDT, 4:30 p.m. MDT.