The New York Yankees enter their ALDS in Florida without their captain, forcing a lineup reshuffle against Tampa Bay. The Yankees are coming off a Wild Card series sweep against the Red Sox, and after that performance, the team has decided to continue without their captain and let him recover. And the Yankees have chosen a $325 million star over Aaron Judge.

According to Jon Heyman, “Giancarlo Stanton made the Yankees roster vs. the Rays. Aaron Judge did not make it.”

This is a big call because Judge has never missed a postseason game since 2017.

The New York Yankees will enter the ALDS without Aaron Judge, as his calf injury continues to delay his return. Judge suffered a right soleus strain on September 16, just 7 games after returning from his rib injury. He has started running and taking live batting practice but has not yet run the bases.

But Aaron Boone explained that Judge does not necessarily need to run the bases before returning. He noted that some of it can be done under simulated conditions.

“No, sometimes running the bases, they replicate things in other ways,” Boone noted Friday. “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.”

But running the bases can be critical in a postseason game, especially by turning close losses into wins by creating extra run-scoring opportunities. Aggressive and fast base running forces fielders into rushed throws, errors, or mental mistakes. This is exactly what we saw during the 2009 World Series Game 4 between the Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies.

In the top of the 9th of a tie game, Johnny Damon singled. The Phillies were utilizing an aggressive defensive shift against the next batter, Mark Teixeira. The entire left side of the infield was left vacant. Damon saw that nobody was covering third base, and caught the pitcher and third baseman completely asleep after stealing second.

He immediately rounded second and sprinted all the way to third base on the same play. Rattled by the chaotic baserunning, the Phillies’ pitching cracked, allowing the Yankees to score three runs right after Damon’s heads-up play to take the victory.

But this baserunning point is a conversation for another day. Regardless, the Yankees and Aaron Boone finally prioritized Judge’s recovery over risking a setback in the ALDS that could otherwise ruin their entire postseason.

While Judge remains outside the roster, Giancarlo Stanton gives New York another experienced postseason bat, who originally signed a 13-year, $325 million deal with the Miami Marlins in November 20154 before being traded to the Yankees in December 2017.

While Judge has played 65 postseason games, Stanton stands at 48. But the latter generates a significantly higher slugging percentage and OPS in the postseason, averaging a home run roughly every 9.8 at-bats compared to Judge’s rate of one every 14.5 at-bats.

Stanton’s own calf-injury saga – three separate strains since April – makes his roster inclusion a calculated gamble. The DH strained his right calf running the bases on April 24 in Houston, which aggravated in June. Then, in August, he injured his left calf.

After missing nearly 5 months, but consistently hitting behind the scenes, often against the Trajekt device, Stanton will be back in action tonight. He was active against Boston, too, but never received an at-bat. Boone had a plan.

Stanton could’ve been a pinch-hitter for Spencer Jones in Game 1, 7th inning. But ultimately, that didn’t happen, and Jones was allowed to take a left-on-left at-bat.

Now, after joining the roster, Stanton believes he can have a big impact.

“I’m ready to help the team any way I can. … That’s all really I got to say about that,” noted Stanton.

And Stanton’s postseason record gives Yankees fans a reason to be calm.

Stanton’s postseason pedigree (.926 OPS, 18 homers, 44 RBIs in 48 games) outpaces Judge’s (.822 OPS, 17 homers, 41 RBIs in 65 games), a gap the Yankees are banking on.

For Stanton, the only issue is his lengthy absence from the plate.

“You see as much velocity as you can,” Stanton said. “Just try to visualize stuff out there and be ready for the moment.”

The Yankees also scored 18 runs across 2 Wild Card games against the Red Sox without Judge. That production shows that this lineup can do damage even without its biggest bat.

Meanwhile, for Judge, it’s “No time like October,” as his Friday afternoon t-shirt reiterated.

“I’m doing everything I can — all morning, night, during the game, everything — to prepare myself to be ready to go. Yeah, I want to be in there. But we’ll see what happens,” the captain had shared after New York’s Game 2 win against Boston.

In September, Judge received a PPP injection, then on Monday, there were live BP sessions at Yankee Stadium on Monday in four plate appearances, and also more at-bats at Double-A Somerset Patriots on Wednesday. Thursday saw more hitting followed by an early workout on Friday at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla.

With Judge being motivated to return as soon as possible, the question is whether the Yanks have the flexibility to keep both of them, especially if there are 11 or 12 pitchers on the active roster. The team carried 10 pitchers and 16 position players for the Wild Card round. Reportedly, they have opted for an 11-man pitching staff in the ALDS.

The Rays will be a tougher test anyway.

The Yankees rely more on heavy-hitting power to clear the fences, but the Rays focus on making contact, drawing walks, and avoiding strikeouts. Tampa Bay applies relentless pressure on opposing defenses through base-stealing and aggressive base running. The Rays excel at small ball – bunting, moving runners over, and lengthening innings – which disrupts the rhythm of power pitchers.

Finishing atop the AL East, the Tampa Bay Rays ranked number one in the league in both bunt hits and sacrifice bunts, while tying for second in stolen bases (162, per statmuse).

Tampa Bay will come into this year’s divisional series with a 3-2 head-to-head in the 2020 ALDS, defeating the Yankees. But Stanton gives New York an October option without Judge. Stanton also understands what this opportunity means:

“If there’s any time to erase a bad year, it’s in October.”

For now, Yankees fans will hope that this decision pays off because their off-day didn’t really go as planned after they swept the Red Sox in two games. There was a hydraulic issue with their Delta charter that delayed everything by at least 3 hours.

“It throws you a wrinkle, and we handled it,” exclaimed the skipper, as the Bleacher Creatures are also hoping for the same on the field.