Yankees beat writer says reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge doesn't want to stop playing center field: "Aaron Judge is not done playing center field"
Aaron Judge had to play a lot of time in center field in 2022 for a variety of reasons. For starters, he's the New York Yankees' best outfielder, and moving him to center was the only way to alleviate poor performances and injuries.
He played pretty well there, being one of the biggest players in baseball and a natural corner outfielder. Now that the Yankees have Harrison Bader in town, a center fielding Judge is likely a thing of the past.
However, beat writer Bryan Hoch believes Judge might not be done patrolling center.
"I'm not done in center field yet." -Aaron Judge to @BryanHoch https://t.co/B7rWGwHNFS
He said on Talkin' Yanks:
"Aaron Judge is not done playing center field. He told me that at the Baseball Writers' Dinner. We were talking about Gold Glove awards. He played so much center field and he also played right field that the voters didn't know where to put him."
He continued:
"And I said something along the lines of, 'Well, the good news is you'll mostly be in right field this year.' He kind of looked at me with that Judge look with one eyebrow up and he says, 'Why? Did you think I wasn't good in center field?' ... I said, 'You know, Harrison Bader is there.' and he said, 'I'm not done in center field yet, Bader's not going to play 162 out there.'"
Bader is an excellent center fielder, but Judge is right: he won't play every single game. There's room for Judge to spend a little bit of time there, even if the Yankees don't think it's entirely necessary.
How good was Aaron Judge in center field?
For several years, Aaron Judge has been one of the premier defensive outfielders due to his large range, large frame for getting balls high in the air, and cannon arm.
In centerfield in 2022, that continued. Center is much harder to play than right field, but Judge did well.
In 630 innings at center, Judge recorded one defensive run save. It's not spectacular, but it is very solid. For comparison, he had two DRS in right field in about 500 innings.
In his career, he has 61 defensive runs saved.