Yankees skipper Aaron Boone quickly dismissed those trying to make anything out of Aaron Judge fielding some balls at first base, but the idea of him playing in left field, well that isn’t as far-fetched.
The crazy thing is that Judge has never played left in his major league career and the few times he played the position professionally was in Triple-A in 2016. It’s a sign of the juggling act the Yankees are trying to do filling their outfield and giving them some flexability with the DH spot.
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The New York Post had been first to report that Boone was considering the move.
“I’m open to things like that,” Boone said when asked about it on Tuesday. “Especially in the home ballpark. We’ll see, we’ll see. It’s something I would say I’m at least considering it on the table. We’ll just kind of see how that goes in letting that play out in getting guys reps in different spots.
“No decision on that yet, but it is on my board.”
Aaron Boone says he is "at least considering" putting Aaron Judge in left field and Giancarlo Stanton in right field at Yankee Stadium: pic.twitter.com/aZc10SYgfb
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) February 21, 2023
The move to put Judge in left would mean that they could put Giancarlo Stanton in right field on occassion. Boone had said that he could be creative in how he deploys players in the outfield this season.
For his part, Stanton was open to the idea when asked about it by reporters.
“I think I have more of a flow when I’m in the outfield,” Stanton said told reporters on Tuesday. “Being in the outfield, you’re kind of more engaged in the game whereas DH you’re inside a lot of the time staying warm and hitting, and kind of watching the game from the TV as opposed to being out more engaged.”
Stanton has been dealing with injuries during his time with the Yankees, which included last season when he went on the injured list with left Achilles tendinitis. He appeared in 34 games in rigth field last year and four in left when the Yankees had been on the road.
There is plenty of pressure on the Yankees as they try and vye for their ellusive 28th World Series title and slay the demon that has been the Houston Astros.
Throughout the start of camp down in Tampa, the focus has been being ready to compete for a ring this year.
“We’re in a good spot. We have all the pieces to get it done,” Stanton said. “We’re laying the foundation and understand the ultimate goal is a championship and we haven’t gotten there. One by one day at a time and we’ll hit bumps in the road. And we’ll have good times, but all set us up for October.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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