Yankees mailbag: The case for not tinkering with Aaron Judge

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You ask, we answer. The Post is fielding questions from readers about New York’s biggest pro sports teams and getting our beat writers to answer them in a series of regularly published mailbags. In today’s installment: the Yankees. Should Aaron Judge continue to bat second? Other than his high number of walks, he does not …

You ask, we answer. The Post is fielding questions from readers about New York’s biggest pro sports teams and getting our beat writers to answer them in a series of regularly published mailbags. In today’s installment: the Yankees.

Should Aaron Judge continue to bat second? Other than his high number of walks, he does not advance runners, hit behind runners like an ideal #2 hitter and he strikes out way too much. I’d rather see [Aaron] Hicks, when healthy, hit behind DJ [LeMahieu]. — Bruce Warner

Isn’t it an eventuality that Judge ends up at either 1B or worse, full time DH? I know he’s a great RF, but his bat is where it’s at! We could trade [Luke] Voit for pitching and use [Mike] Ford as backup at 1B. And it would open a spot in RF for 77 [Clint Frazier]. — Steve H

Let’s respond to the questions separately.

The trend is teams, with strong analytical input, use who they believe is their best hitter in the second spot no matter what. For example, Mike Trout hit second in all of the 133 games he started last year, and he is the best hitter in baseball.

Using the description of “Yankees’ best hitter’’ last year would have meant LeMahieu batted second, but he was needed in the leadoff spot where he hit in 125 starts.

The No. 2 hitter you envision, one who hits behind runners, isn’t in vogue and strikeouts don’t seem to matter to how a lineup is structured. As for Judge hitting second, the Yankees seem fine having his power with a runner on base in the first inning.

As for moving Judge out of right field, it isn’t going to happen.

Aaron Boone was asked about that on March 26, which would have been Opening Day with Judge on the injured list.

“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 players. Never a discussion to move him.”

Judge is far too good of a right fielder to move him to first base or DH.

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As for using Voit to acquire pitching, what he would bring back is questionable and his right-handed power is real and more valuable to the Yankees. Moving Judge out of right field wouldn’t necessarily open a big league spot for Frazier since the Yankees have the left-handed hitting Mike Tauchman to play right as well as center and left.

Would a shortened season change how you manage your starters and bullpen? — Luke

If the season does start, and there are a lot of roadblocks in the way, it would follow a condensed spring training which, under normal circumstances, is six weeks solely for the pitchers. Because pitchers will likely have half of that, expect managers, who will be working with an expanded roster, to be very conservative with their arms at the beginning.

Do you think Gary Sanchez will ever live up to billing? — Mike Stanley

That depends on what the billing originally was and who it came from.

Sanchez has almost 1,400 big league at-bats and is a .246 hitter with above average power who has produced 105 homers and 262 RBIs. Talent evaluators use 1,500 at-bats to gauge what type of hitter a player is and will be.

If the billing was sky high after he hit .299 with 20 homers, drove in 42 runs and posted a ungodly 1.032 OPS in 53 games in 2016, then he won’t ever to live up to the billing. But despite defensive deficiencies and lower body injuries, the Yankees are firmly committed to the 27-year old catcher with a strong throwing arm due to the seductive power.

If you could build a package from current players on the roster to trade for a past player who played between 1920 & 1989 (cannot have played for NYY), which player would that be? — Jose Salazar

Willie Mays. Who would you send to the Giants?