There is much celebration among fans of the New York Yankees after the team finalized its blockbuster trade for left fielder Juan Soto, as it gives the team a bonafide superstar teammate for franchise cornerstone Aaron Judge, and on the outfield, no less. Soto has been one of the best, most entertaining hitters to watch in the MLB over the past six seasons, and he's only 25 years old, so he still has many years of elite production in the bag.

However, all the hullabaloo surrounding the Yankees' acquisition of Soto may be overlooking a crucial lineup implication brought forth by the 25-year old left fielder's arrival. Acquiring Soto, of course, is a net positive trade for the Yankees, but the team also acquired corner outfielder Alex Verdugo in recent days. Verdugo is a right fielder by trade, which means that one of Soto, Verdugo, and Judge will have to play centerfield.

Now, the Yankees' reported tentative plan is to trot out Aaron Judge, a career right fielder and designated hitter, at centerfield, one of the most difficult positions to play on the diamond. That is a plan that confounds former big leaguer Sean Casey, more affectionately known as “The Mayor”, as he doesn't think it's a wise move at all to put that much toll on the body of the team's best hitter.

“No. No. No. No. No. I do not want Judgie as my center fielder,” Casey said Wednesday on his podcast, “The Mayor’s Office”, via Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. “I just think center field is so demanding, dude, and he’s such a big guy, and to have to demand him to go so far in the gaps and be on the run — you have to cover more ground as a center fielder. The wear and tear on his body — I don’t like it . . . I don’t think Boonie does, either.”

Given the Yankees' personnel, they may have no choice but to put Aaron Judge at centerfield. That is not a promising plan, as Judge is already a negative on defense on a corner. The Yankees have Trent Grisham — a defensive specialist — coming in anyway. Judge at centerfield may be a recurring option for them in 2024, but expect the Yankees to instead put him at DH over Giancarlo Stanton more often than not instead of putting their outfield defense in jeopardy.