The New York Yankees recently placed Aaron Judge on the IL due to a calf injury. While there was initial hope that he'd be able to return to begin the postseason, it was announced on Tuesday that Judge is expected to miss the American League Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox. Yankees manager Aaron Boone made the announcement, via Jorge Castillo of ESPN.

“Aaron Boone said Aaron Judge has a ‘moderate grade' strain and he doesn’t expect to have him available for the Wild Card series. Boone said Judge received a PPP injection yesterday,” Castillo reported.

Assuming the Yankees do play the Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Series — which is expected barring surprising standings placement changes before the season ends — the team could have a difficult time against a motivated Boston ball club. The Red Sox started the season slow but turned the jets on in the middle of the '26 campaign. On Tuesday, the Red Sox removed the interim tag from Chad Tracy and gave him a three-year contract to be their manager of the future.

If New York wants to avoid being upset by Boston, the ball club will require a complete team effort. However, three specific players will need to step up in the series.

Cody Bellinger

The home run ball has become an X-factor for teams in the postseason over the years. Without Judge in the lineup, as well as Giancarlo Stanton who is injured as well, the Yankees' home run prowess will take a hit. Ben Rice is still present, but he will need help.

Cody Bellinger has had a strong season. The 31-year-old earned the third All-Star selection of his career and he currently holds a .270 batting average and .779 OPS. The Yankees would benefit from more long balls from the slugger, though, as Bellinger has just 16 homers in 128 games played despite playing half of his contests at hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium.

The Red Sox are going to proceed with caution when Rice is at the plate. Bellinger needs to step up and produce some power for the Yankees.

David Bednar, bullpen

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David Bender is the big name here, but in all reality the Yankees need a strong effort from their entire bullpen. The team will not be able to rely upon the offense to score a ton of runs and create huge leads. There may end up being multiple one or two-run games in the AL Wild Card round, especially when you factor in the Yankees' strong starting pitching.

Holding leads will be of the utmost importance. Bednar can set the tone by taking care of business in the 9th inning as the closer. The 31-year-old reliever has turned in a stellar 2.58 ERA to go along with 34 saves as of this story's writing.

Gerrit Cole

As mentioned, the Yankees' starting rotation is strong. Cam Schlittler is probably going to win the AL Cy Young Award while Carlos Rodon and Max Fried are reliable left-handed starters. Gerrit Cole was once the ace of the pitching rotation, but he's now become the X-factor.

Cole has appeared in 21 games this season since returning from injury earlier in the year. The veteran right-handed hurler holds a respectable — albeit far from spectacular — 3.63 ERA. Cole's performance may realistically change the dynamic of the Yankees' pitching staff in the postseason.

The intriguing element of the situation is it remains to be seen what the Yankees' rotation will look like in the Wild Card round. In longer series, teams often turn to a four-man rotation. However, there will likely be a three-man rotation in the Wild Card round. Cole may end up being used out of the bullpen.

Even in that scenario, Cole can still be an X-factor. He could end up bridging the gap between the starting pitcher and Bednar, which would help the Yankees in a crucial manner.