Over the winter, Aaron Boone had said he was thinking about ‘getting a little creative’ with his outfield alignments in 2023, in an attempt to get Giancarlo Stanton into the outfield more.
He expanded on that Tuesday, saying that he is ‘open to the idea’ of playing Aaron Judge in left and Stanton in right, especially in Yankee Stadium.
If that’s the case, sign the 2022 AL MVP up.
“If we need to get Big G in right field at Yankee Stadium, put me in left. I don’t mind it,’’ Judge said Tuesday. “I don’t mind switching around so we can have (center fielder Harrison) Bader and me and Big G out there.’’
Boone said there’s no plan as of yet to give Judge any reps in left this spring, even though his only pro experience out there was seven games in Triple-A in 2016.
Judge hopes he gets some, though.
“We’ll get some reps, hopefully, in Spring Training and get comfortable out there,” Judge said. “That’s the only way you can test things out, is to throw yourself out there.”
Stanton was once a Gold Glove-caliber right fielder, but has been mostly a DH as a Yankee. He has of course played some in right field, and even tried left field on the flip side of the experiment to get
He made 38 regular-season starts in the outfield last year, 34 in right and four in left, and he started in left field in two ALCS games as well – and to be honest, Stanton kind of prefers that.
“I think I have more of a flow when I’m an outfielder,” Stanton said Tuesday. “Being an outfielder, you’re more engaged in the game, whereas at DH, you’re inside a lot of the time staying warm and hitting, kind of watching the game from the TV.”
Judge, too, is confident in Stanton being an impact outfielder once again.
“I know he wants to be a good outfielder. He’s good out there,” Judge said.
Having Stanton and Judge in the outfield together would not only fill the Yankees’ hole in left, but also perhaps open up DH opportunities for Anthony Rizzo and/or Josh Donaldson, allowing them to use DJ LeMahieu at whatever infield position is open and utilize all five of their top infielders.
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
Listen live to WFAN via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker
Follow WFAN on Social Media:
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
