Limiting the wear and tear on Aaron Judge is a real concern for the New York Yankees, but dramatically altering his spot in the field will not be the way.
Appearing this week on ESPN New York’s “The Michael Kay Show,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone shut down the notion of Judge potentially moving from right field to first base.
“No, no, no, no,” said Boone, per George A. King III of the New York Post. “Sometimes when a guy has a few injuries, and significant injuries, sometimes there is a unlucky, fluke thing. You are playing major league sports and injuries come with it.
“He’s had a couple of unfortunate injuries the last couple of years, but moving him? Absolutely not,” Boone went on. “He is an elite defender and one of the game’s great players. Never a discussion to move him.”
Judge, a 2019 Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award winner in right, is currently recovering from a stress fracture in his rib and a partially collapsed lung stemming from a dive in the outfield last season. The past few years have also seen the two-time All-Star miss time with various injuries, including an oblique strain and a fractured wrist.
Boone recently gave a positive update on Judge’s health though, and while he obviously offers his primary value at the plate, his manager clearly believes that the benefit of keeping Judge in the outfield is worth the cost.
