It may be likely that the New York Yankees will win the AL Wild Card. If they intend to go far, they have to have Aaron Judge on top of his game both at the plate and in the outfield.
On Thursday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone discussed the prospect of Judge playing in the outfield, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Judge was taking practice in the outfield and throwing this week.
Boone was asked about Judge's potential transition to the outfield.
“We'll see where that leads,” he said. But when asked if he foresees Judge playing in the outfield for the remainder of the year, he said: “I do.”
This year, Judge is batting .323 with 41 home runs, 95 RBIs, and 144 hits. At this point, Judge is in a battle for the AL MVP with Cal Raleigh.
Meanwhile, the Yankees are 73-60 and are in third place in the AL East. Also, they are 4.5 games behind the first-place Toronto Blue Jays. Furthermore, they are 2.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild Card standings.
Recently, Judge has been the Yankees' designated hitter. His last time playing in the outfield was on July 25 against the Philadelphia Phillies in a 12-5 loss.
Afterward, Judge went out with a right flexor strain. On August 5, he returned to the lineup as the DH.
The return of Aaron Judge to the outfield
Throughout his career, Judge was known for being a prolific power hitter. However, he has also managed to become a venerable outfielder.
In 2021, Judge was honored with the Field Bible Award as one of the top outfielders in the league. When healthy, he has a strong arm and can get runners out from right field.
He positions himself out in right field by reading the game and using the layout of Yankee Stadium to his advantage, and throws the runners off. In essence, Judge can hit, but he can also throw and field.
