Brian Cashman Admits Risky Aaron Judge Move as Yankees Take Unusual MLB Return Step

Remember that little back-and-forth between Aaron Boone and Aaron Judge last month? That was the time when Judge had just come back from his injury. But Boone was apprehensive about whether his star slugger would really make it back to the outfield, even saying, “I don’t think we’re going to see him throwing like he normally does at any point this year, but that’s OK.” Well, Aaron Judge didn’t love that.

Judge quickly fired back, basically saying Boone hadn’t even seen him throw recently and that he was confident he’d be back to 100%. The result was that Boone ended up walking back his comments. But when Judge finally got his outfield reps in during the Blue Jays series, it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. The highlight being that shallow pop-up from Bo Bichette that dropped in during a 7–1 loss at Yankee Stadium!

So, was Judge’s return to the outfield just rushed, or was something else at play? Yankees president Brian Cashman might have the real answers.”The Yankees truncated the rehab on Aaron Judge to get him back into MLB games quicker as a DH. ‘The return to play protocols were adjusted … so we’re simulating that in the big leagues.’ Cashman said he believes Judge is ‘walking that tightrope of when to throw the thunderbolt and when to play it safe,” MLB insider Bryan Hoch quoted the Yankees president.

So, it’s clearly a case of the Yankees rushing Aaron Judge’s return to the outfield. For the unversed, Judge has been on fire at the plate this year, and the Yankees really haven’t lost a step keeping him at DH. Even after missing time with that elbow strain, he’s still leading all of baseball in bWAR (7.8) through 136 games, which is remarkable.

However, the problem comes with Giancarlo Stanton in the outfield. He is currently 35, and the injury risk only goes up when he’s not locked in as a DH. On top of that, he doesn’t bring anything much defensively. For that reason, even though Judge isn’t back to full throwing strength, his mobility alone still makes him the better option in right field as October looms.

However, by pushing Judge back out there too soon, the Yankees run the risk of aggravating his UCL injury. Hence, they might decide to play it safe in the upcoming series.

Aaron Judge might play it safe in the Boston series

For the Yankees, keeping their superstar slugger safe is their topmost priority. And guess what, they’ve got a plan. Aaron Boone revealed that Aaron Judge is expected to shift over to left field at Fenway Park when the Yankees open a big three-game set against the Red Sox on Friday night. “Aaron Judge could play left field tomorrow at Fenway Park—shorter distance on throws, etc. Aaron Boone said that call hasn’t yet been made,” Hoch added.

According to Boone, the idea is to rotate Judge and Stanton in Fenway’s smaller left field and rely on Cody Bellinger to handle the tougher assignment in right. And we think the move makes sense because Judge’s throwing arm isn’t at full strength yet. Also, the short distance in front of the Green Monster means less ground to cover and shorter throws, and it will help put less stress on that elbow.

And not to forget that, since coming back to the outfield, Judge has held back a bit on his throws. Sometimes, even avoiding firing to the plate or easing up on velocity.  Still, every throw he makes carries some risk to that UCL, and if surgery were to be needed in the offseason, it would be a massive blow for the Yankees.