After returning to the outfield in the series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays, Aaron Judge will be the New York Yankees’ right fielder for today’s game. It will be his second time taking the field since suffering a right elbow flexor strain on July 25. Manager Aaron Boone played him as a designated hitter (DH) since his activation on August 5 to protect his throwing arm.
With Judge hitting the right field, it appears that Giancarlo Stanton will resume playing DH for the afternoon game. MLB insider Bryan Hoch shared the news on X (formerly Twitter).
“Aaron Judge returns to right field this afternoon vs. Toronto,” Hoch wrote.
On Sunday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that Judge hasn’t fully recovered from the injury just yet. That’s why the team is not rushing him back to the field and his assignment for the final month of the regular season could see him chalk in both positions in alternate frequency.
Aaron Judge’s not so ideal performance in outfield return
Aaron Judge didn’t seem his usual self in Friday’s game against the Blue Jays in right field. His arm readiness came into question after he made a weak throw on a two-run single in the first inning of the game. He opted against making a deeper throw at home plate and instead threw to second so that the single doesn’t get converted into a double.
However, after the game, Judge said his throwing arm is fine and if he wasn’t ready enough, he wouldn’t have taken the field.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t be out there if I wasn’t,” Judge said. “I just dropped the ball in, you know, threw it into the cutoff man. It was a two-run single. I wouldn’t be in the outfield if I weren’t able to make that throw. It just didn’t happen there.”
Aaron Judge will have his task cut out against the Blue Jays. He’ll hope to be prepared for deeper throws to home plate if it comes to it.
