Aaron Judge is coming off his second MVP season, and he could be making a change for 2025.
New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman met with reporters at the Winter Meetings in Dallas on Monday. Cashman said that moving Judge back to right field was a possibility for next season. Juan Soto has chosen to sign with the Mets, which leaves open the right field sot.
The thinking is that moving Judge would create an opening for prospect Jasson Dominguez.
“We obviously believe [Dominguez] has a very high ceiling, and he’s healthy,” Cashman said.
Brian Cashman said that moving Aaron Judge back to right field would create "a clear lane" for Jasson Dominguez to take over in center field. "We obviously believe [Dominguez] has a very high ceiling, and he’s healthy."
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) December 10, 2024
Judge has played right field for most of his career. He began playing some center in 2021, then split his time in center and right in 2022, and he played almost exclusively in center in 2024.
Judge was completely dominant in 2024. He batted .322 with a .458 on-base percentage, .701 slugging percentage and 1.159 OPS. He led the league in the latter three categories. Judge also led MLB with 58 home runs and 144 RBIs.
Dominguez, 21, is regarded as a top prospect. He slugged four home runs in just eight games in 2023. He batted .179 over 18 games in 2024. He missed time due to elbow and oblique injuries, but he could be ready for a big role in 2025. Now that they have lost Soto, the Yankees could really use Dominguez stepping up.
