Yankees manager Aaron Boone said during an appearance on the Talkin’ Yanks podcast on Tuesday that Aaron Judge will be in right field for Tuesday night's game against the Twins.
It’s a significant development for the reigning American League MVP and his club as it will mark the first time Judge has played the outfield on consecutive days since he suffered a right elbow flexor strain in late July.
That injury necessitated a stint on the 10-day injured list, and once he was activated on Aug. 5, Judge served as the Yanks’ designated hitter for a month. He returned to the field on Sept. 5 against the Blue Jays, a game in which he appeared to be unwilling to throw at full force.
However, Boone said prior to Monday’s series opener against Minnesota that Judge is gaining more confidence with his arm and has "gotten a little better each time." Tuesday will be Judge’s sixth game in the field during September. He played consecutive games in right against the Blue Jays and Tigers on Sept. 7 and Sept. 9, but there was an off-day between those contests.
If Judge is able to handle a full workload in right field once again, that will ostensibly move Giancarlo Stanton back to his normal duties as New York’s designated hitter. It could also open up more playing time for outfielder Jasson Domínguez and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, both of whom have been coming off the bench often this month.
Judge fell into a bit of a slump upon his return from the IL as he hit just .243 with six homers in his next 30 games. But he is coming off a hot stretch in which he batted .450 with five dingers over six games en route to winning AL Player of the Week honors.
"I feel like he looks really good to me right now at the plate," Boone said of Judge on Monday.