Yankees waiting to decide on Aaron Judge's availability for ALDS - ESPN

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Yankees have not decided if Aaron Judge will be on their roster for the American League Division Series against the Rays as he continues to work his way back from a right calf strain, manager Aaron Boone said Friday.

The Yankees have until Saturday morning to submit their roster. Game 1 is scheduled for Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET.

«We'll see,» Boone said.

Judge has not played since straining his calf — specifically his soleus muscle — Sept. 16. The Yankees considered including him on their wild-card series roster but proceeded without him and still throttled the Red Sox, outscoring their rivals 18-2 in the two-game sweep at Yankee Stadium.

In his push to convince the team's brass he is ready, Judge faced live pitching at Yankee Stadium on Thursday and worked out at the organization's minor league complex in Tampa early Friday before joining the team for its afternoon workout at Tropicana Field. It was the third time this week the three-time MVP hit against live pitching.

While Judge also began running this week, Boone said he was not sure if Judge has run the bases yet. He indicated that running the bases is not a prerequisite for having Judge on the roster.

«Sometimes running the bases, they replicate things in other ways,» Boone said. «The trainers will obviously play a big part in this. As the day unfolds, we'll see where we're at and what it potentially looks like for the series.»

Boone said Tropicana Field's turf surface — less than ideal for a 6-foot-7, 280-pound athlete coming off a calf injury — will factor into the team's decision-making «a little bit» before hinting at the possibility of carrying Judge on the roster but him being limited early in the series.

«It's just as far as him and