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Instead of being at Camden Yards where the Yankees were to face the Orioles on Opening Day on Thursday, Aaron Boone, seaking by phone, answered a weird question on “The Michael Kay Show”. Kay said listeners call the show and insist the Yankees have to move Aaron Judge from right field to first base to …
Instead of being at Camden Yards where the Yankees were to face the Orioles on Opening Day on Thursday, Aaron Boone, seaking by phone, answered a weird question on “The Michael Kay Show”.
Kay said listeners call the show and insist the Yankees have to move Aaron Judge from right field to first base to keep him healthy after he suffered a stress fracture of the top right rib and a lung problem diving for a ball last September. Multiple tests didn’t unearth the injuries until the second week of spring training.
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“No, no, no, no,’’ Boone said when asked if the Yankees have talked about what would be an odd move. “Sometimes when a guy has a few injuries, and significant injuries, sometimes there is a unlucky, fluke thing. You are playing major league sports and injuries come with it.’’
Judge ended the 2016 season on the injured list with a strain of the right oblique. Two years later, he was on the shelf from July 27-Sept. 14 due to a fractured right wrist. Last season, a left oblique strain cost him two months.
“He has had a couple of unfortunate injuries the last couple of years, but moving him? Absolutely not,’’ Boone said of Judge, who ranks near the top of defensive right fielders in the game. “He is an elite defender and one of the game’s great player. Never a discussion to move him.’’
Combine Judge’s lethal bat with Gold Glove-caliber defense and you get a dual threat according to Boone, who believes outfielders have become more valuable in the launch-angle era.
“He is a true two-way player and I think outfielders nowadays … have become more valuable over time [because of] more balls in the air,’’ Boone said. “I think when you have elite defense in the outfield I think it shows up so much in the win column over time and Aaron is one of those guys.’’
Earlier Thursday, the Yankees made the following roster moves:
- Optioned INF Thairo Estrada, RHP Ben Heller and RHP Michael King to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
- Optioned RHP Deivi García to Double-A Trenton.
