There have been pundits all along who thought that the New York Yankees missing out on Juan Soto may be better for the team long term.
Of course, the Yankees have more financial flexibility without having Soto’s mega contract on their payroll, but there is another benefit to having the right-field spot open up.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman admitted to reporters including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch that it “makes sense” to move Aaron Judge back to right field.
It makes a whole lot of sense to move the 6-foot-7, 282-pound Judge out of the most physically demanding position in the outfield. Judge will be 33 in April and has a history of injuries.
He did stay healthy to play 105 games in center field last season, but it’s fair to wonder if the wear-and-tear contributed to his offense tailing off down the stretch. After hitting a scorching .389 with a 1.386 OPS with 12 homers in 26 games in August, Judge hit .227 with a 1.019 OPS and seven homers in September and October regular season games. In the playoffs, Huge hit .140 with three home runs.
Also, Judge’s range in center was a -6 in terms of Outs Above Average (OAA), according to Baseball Savant.
The Yankees’ internal options at center are limited.
In the same conversation with reporters, manager Aaron Boone mentioned top prospect Jasson Dominguez as “a leading candidate,” for the starting role.
Dominguez certainly has the potential to be an exciting offensive player at the big league level, but not everyone is certain he can be an everyday centerfielder.
“We obviously believe (Dominguez])has a very high ceiling, and he’s healthy,” Cashman told Hoch.
The Yankees also re-signed Trent Grisham to a $5 million contrct