Former New York Yankees hitting coach Sean Casey recently stated that he does not support club captain Aaron Judge serving as a full-time center fielder following the Yankees’ acquisition of All-Star outfielder Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres on Wednesday.
On Thursday’s edition of “The Michael Kay Show,” which airs on ESPN New York, Yankees play-by-play announcer Michael Kay repeated Casey’s take.
“There is one aspect of both deals that they made during the winter meetings that has me scared… “I don’t feel comfortable playing center field with Aaron Judge,” Kay explained to Manuel Gomez of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com.
Kay mentioned the Yankees acquiring outfielder Alex Verdugo from the Boston Red Sox as the first move. Even as recently as Friday morning, experts like Greg Joyce of the New York Post predicted that Judge will start Opening Day 2024 as New York’s center fielder, despite the injury concerns that come with the 6-foot-7, 282-pound superstar playing such a demanding position.
Following Judge’s hip injury last spring, Joe Rivera of The Sporting News shared a lengthy history of the slugger’s injuries during his Yankees tenure. That was before Judge slammed into a fence at Dodger Stadium on June 3 and tore a ligament in his big right toe. This setback forced the 2022 American League Most Valuable Player to sit out until July 28.
“I trust [Yankees senior vice president and general manager] Brian Cashman knows it’s probably not optimum to have Aaron Judge play 100 games in center and that something is going to be done,” Kay said during a segment of the show. “I don’t know if they end up spinning Verdugo for pitching.” Because the best defensive setup for the Yankees is to put Trent Grisham in center and Judge and Soto in whichever corner you choose.”
As part of the Soto trade, San Diego sent Grisham to the Yankees.
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