Aaron Judge's answer to playoff availability is great news for Yankees fans

With under a week until the MLB postseason begins, it's remained unclear whether one of the game's premiere sluggers will be ready in time.

Aaron Judge, shortly after his return from a long-term injury, was placed on the Yankees' IL on Saturday with a right calf strain, putting his postseason status into question.

With New York heading for an AL Wild Card bid, Judge has had some conflicting comments with manager Aaron Boone about whether he'll be ready for October — though Judge appeared confident in his chances on Tuesday.

Here's what Judge and Boone have said about the Yankees star's chances at returning in time for the postseason.

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Aaron Judge says 'plan' is to be ready for Wild Card

Judge was placed on the IL on Saturday, likely ending his regular season but also putting his postseason status into doubt. The 34-year-old was listed with a right calf strain after exiting a matchup against the Twins with an injury.

On Wednesday, per ESPN, Judge was unwilling to giving up on being ready for the AL Wild Card series, intending to be ready for Game 1 on Tuesday.

"That's what the plan is," Judge said, per ESPN. "Try to get my body ready so I'm ready to go."

Judge's plan, however, was rather contradictory to what Boone said on Tuesday. When asked if the Yankees expect Judge back for the start of the postseason, per ESPN, Boone replied: "We're planning on him not being a part of that," saying Judge has a "moderate grade" strain that he received a PPP injection for.

Boone reiterated after Wednesday's game that he is not dismissing the possibility of Judge being cleared for the start of the postseason, but he also hasn't provided much optimism.

"Like I said, I'm not ruling anything out," Boone said, per ESPN. "We got days away [until] that. Not that I'm necessarily expecting that one way or the other, but we're going to listen to the body and see how he heals. If he's in a position to do that, obviously we're going to want him."

The slugger himself struck a different tone, though. According to ESPN, Judge "said he has had discussions with decision-makers in the organization about his prognosis, which has not been made public, but 'I can't control what people say' about the situation." He also questioned why Boone would classify the injury as "moderate."

"Everybody's moderate is a little different," Judge said. "Your moderate is a little different than my moderate, so on and so on. So, I don't know why he used those words. But, like I said, I'm trying to get back as soon as I can."

While Judge acknowledged he doesn't want to rush himself back to risk re-injury, he noted that "the Bronx is a magical place in October," something he doesn't want to miss out on.

"I weigh it and I weigh it like this: We've got a great team and we've got a great opportunity in front of us," Judge said. "The future is not guaranteed, good or bad. My job is to do whatever I can to get back and things are feeling great."

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