Yankees news: Aaron Judge planning Wild Card Series return

The Yankee captain is eligible to come off the IL in the season finale on Sunday versus Baltimore , but after the team spent most of the early part of the week downplaying expectations of him appearing in the first round of the postseason…both sides can't be right.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch : The Yankees have a little under a week to round out how they want to approach the Wild Card Series, and the first two questions pertain to the roles of Anthony Volpe and Ryan McMahon seem to be getting slightly clearer. Volpe was taking grounders at third ahead of Wednesday's game with the Rays , and Mac has gradually placed himself in the near-unplayable category (big night at the plate last night notwithstanding). Volpe's never been at third before as a pro, and it's fair to question whether he has the arm strength, but he's hit better than McMahon since returning and the Yankees need runs.

Also in this article: Giancarlo Stanton hasn't given up on contributing to the 2026 playoff run just yet. He and Trent Grisham were working out on the field at Double-A Somerset. Grisham's eyeing the Wild Card Series to get back from his hamstring injury, but Stanton is at least trying to make himself a pinch-hit option.