The Yankees have taken Aaron Judge up on his offer to give left field a try.
After the Yankees’ walk-off spring training win on Wednesday afternoon, manager Aaron Boone told reporters that his MVP will likely see some time in left field very soon.
“Sometime probably next week,” Boone said.
Boone told reporters that Judge will get one more start in his normal right field, where he was on Wednesday, and then have him “work a few days” in left field, as the Yanks toy with the idea of moving Giancarlo Stanton to right field in an effort to preserve his health while also gaining some more flexibility at the DH spot.
Stanton hasn’t played more than 40 games in the outfield since his first season with the Bombers in 2018, as health problems have mainly limited his availability to DH. But with the Yankees likely wanting to give half days off to veterans like Judge, DJ LeMahieu, Josh Donaldson, and others, it would help to have Stanton’s bat still be in the lineup on those days.
Judge has yet to play left field during his big league career. A stellar defender in right, Judge has also played a solid center field when needed.
Meanwhile, right field is where Stanton has the most big-league experience, and was a Gold Glove finalist during his MVP season with the Marlins. For the Yankees, the thought is having Stanton in right field in front of the short porch would mean less ground to cover, and less wear and tear on his lower body, which has been the source of multiple injuries in recent years.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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