Aaron Judge In Left Field Could Occasionally Appear For The New York Yankees

Aaron Judge’s experience as a left fielder under the massive glare of the New York Yankee spotlight is none.

By the end of this year, Judge may wind up with a handful of games in left field, the same area where they Yankees are either hoping Aaron Hicks comes close to doing what he did in 2018 or the asking price for Bryan Reynolds significantly reduces as time goes on.

The reason Judge the left fielder is becoming a topic in Yankee camp is because for anyone paying attention to their exhibition game there was Judge patrolling left field for five innings where there were not any flyballs and merely a ground ball single

It really was a patrol because nothing happened during the course of Judge’s left field stint. While Judge is not about to become the regular left fielder it is something the Yankees could deploy during instances when Giancarlo Stanton takes a break from being the designated hitter to play right field where he batted .258 with 11 homers in 34 games, his most in right since playing 37 times in 2018.

“I didn’t get any action so hopefully I can get back out there to get back out there to get some work in,” Judge told reporters.

Even if his appearances in that position are quiet, Judge’s ability to play there could give the Yankees more flexibility with their designated hitter alignment. Last year 16 players made at least one appearance as a DH led by Stanton’s 65 games there.

During the season, Judge agreeing to go there at times could give others like Josh Donaldson, DJ LeMahieu, and Anthony Rizzo a chance to enjoy the rest day that goes with being a designated hitter and those names were essentially why Judge offered to try out left field Wednesday.

“He was talking about left field and trying to figure out ways to get ‘G’ out in right and I said, ‘Well just put me in out there,” Judge told reporters. “If you want to give JD (Donaldson) a DH a day or DJ (LeMahieu) a DH day, I can play left like I played in college. Let me take a crack at it.”

If anything, when Judge played 78 games in center field it was a seamless transition defensively, which hardly was a surprise and even though his last appearances there were for seven games in Triple-A during the 2016 season.

And considering the desire to get Stanton more appearances in right, Judge’s ability to man left field at times could enhance the lineup. On Wednesday, manager Aaron Boone told reporters he aspires to get Stanton to play 40 to 50 games in the outfield.

“It makes some sense to do it out there,” Boone told reporters. “Hopefully he can get up to speed rep-wise because it is something going to the other corner. It’s one thing going to center field where guys toa always feel a little more natural.

“It’s a different look and the fact that he’s had a few days to kind of rep into it these back-to-back games, I think will serve them well.”

And perhaps when Judge’s next appearance occurs Thursday, he will get some more chances in an actual game setting.

“You can’t really simulate it with fungoes or machine work pregame,” Judge told reporters. “The only way you can do it is getting reps in the game.”

And that means like seeing different trajectories or spin of balls headed to left field, which has always been more spacious than right field in any of the three versions of Yankee Stadium.

“You’re just dealing with right-handed pull-side line drives,” Judge told reporters. “I think that’s the biggest factor. Everything else is pretty much the same.”