Aaron Judge will be getting a look at the other side of the field.
The new Yankee captain will be playing left field on Wednesday against the Cardinals and Thursday against the Red Sox, Boone said on the YES Network Sunday during their game against the Pirates.
Boone has been flirting with the idea since the beginning of spring to get Giancarlo Stanton more reps in right field which would open up the DH spot for one of the Yankees’ infielders (Gleyber Torres, Josh Donaldson or DJ LeMahieu).
“I did mention it to them about, ‘If we need to get Big G in right field at Yankee Stadium, put me in left,’” Judge said on Feb 21. “I don’t mind it. I don’t mind switching around so we can have me, [center fielder Harrison Bader] and Big G out there. We’ll get some reps, hopefully, in spring training and get comfortable out there.”
No. 99 hasn’t played left field since 2016 when he played seven games there for Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre.
The Bombers’ are trying to get more punch in their lineup on a regular basis by playing Stanton in the outfield. The 2017 NL MVP played just 38 games in the field in 2022.
“I think I have more of a flow when I’m an outfielder,” Stanton said. “Being an outfielder, you’re more engaged in the game, whereas [as the] DH, you’re inside a lot of the time staying warm and hitting, kind of watching the game from the TV…
“It’ll continue to be similar as last year,” Stanton said of his workload in the outfield. “I hit a road bump with the [Achilles] injury there [in July], but you’ve got to build up to a similar game plan and see what we can accomplish, putting us in the best scenario to win each night — wherever that is in the lineup.”
STARTING UP
Aaron Boone is already toying around with how to deploy his loaded starting rotation. The Yankees’ skipper made a not-so-official announcement to about how he anticipates opening up the season with his starters on Sunday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.
Gerrit Cole is in line to start Opening Day against the San Francisco Giants at Yankee Stadium followed by newly inked southpaw Carlos Rodon — who was roughed up in his spring debut — and Luis Severino closing out the …read more
Source:: The Mercury News