Aaron Judge leaves game with lower leg tightness

The Yankees are holding their breaths hoping they did not just lose their MVP and captain just before the playoffs.

Aaron Judge left in the sixth inning of Wednesday's series finale against the Twins with what the team later announced was "lower right leg tightness." There was no clear moment in the game where it seemed like Judge hurt himself, but the alarms across the fanbase went off once Heliot Ramos stepped in to pinch hit for Judge in the top of the sixth.

The Yankees had just gotten Judge back from a two-plus month absence with a stress fracture in his rib. He belted a huge three-run home run in Monday's series-opening win against Minnesota and got the day off on Tuesday.

Jomboy Media speculated that the injury may have happened during this sequence in the bottom of the fifth. The play was nowhere near Judge as the ball in play never left the infield, but you could see Judge seemingly limping a bit, and that was just before Ramos was called on to pinch hit.

More will be revealed once the Yankees provide an update, but of course, the Yankees cannot afford for Judge to miss any time with a potential calf injury. We have already seen several extended absences in New York alone due to calf injuries. Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor missed two months with a calf strain, while teammate Juan Soto missed extended time with a similar injury. Judge's teammate, Giancarlo Stanton, has missed nearly the entire season with a calf injury, and likely will not be back this year.