How Should the Yankees Approach Their Outfield the Rest of the Season?
The recent struggles of the New York Yankees, especially against teams in their own division, are posing many questions about how to structure the team moving forward. After Aaron Judge went down with a right flexor injury at the end of July, the entire Yankees outfield had to change. While Judge was only on the injured list for the minimum 10 days, he still hasn’t been able to return to right field, and he only just resumed throwing to bases today. If the Yankees continue to lose, it’s fair to question if they will even attempt to put Judge back in the outfield this season.
Recently, Giancarlo Stanton has taken it upon himself to return to right field, despite being away from the outfield for nearly two years. Losing Stanton in the lineup was detrimental for the Yankees when Judge first returned to the designated hitter spot. However, putting Stanton in the outfield every game is something that the Yankees are not going to be able to swing. In St. Louis, Stanton sat out three straight games after having a difficult time recovering from playing the outfield in the previous series. With the combination of longer recovery time and the fear of having Stanton in a more expansive outfield, the Yankees will have to find a way to put their best product on the field.
As of right now, the best defensive alignment has Stanton in the outfield until Judge can return. Losing Stanton, especially with the way he has been swinging the bat recently, would be too much for the Yankees’ lineup to handle in their current state. In addition, Jasson Domínguez has been a defensive liability when he has been put in left field recently, and his fielding ability probably isn’t better than Stanton’s. If the Yankees make the playoffs, hopefully, at that point, Judge will be able to return to the outfield, allowing Stanton to once again become the designated hitter. With their chances of winning the AL East dwindling by the day, the Yankees need to do everything they can to stay afloat, and one of those things would be getting Judge back into the outfield.
