For the first time since July 25, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge will be playing the outfield and starting in right field on Friday, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.
The AL MVP candidate suffered an elbow injury in late July that forced him into a short, 10-day IL stint. Upon his return, Judge was limited to strictly DH duties, while Giancarlo Stanton took his place in the outfield.
This news makes the Yankees a much sharper defensive team, as Stanton is no longer asked to track down fly balls and extra base-hits into the gap. Also, it allows both Stanton and Judge to remain in the lineup everyday.
Judge is having another MVP-caliber season, hitting .322 with 43 home runs, 97 RBIs and a 1.105 OPS. The two-time AL MVP has not put up the same gaudy numbers that he was prior to his injury, so the hope is that with Judge now fully engaged in the action for all nine innings, he can pick up the pace heading into the playoffs.
Judge returns to the outfield at the right time for the Yankees, as they’ll begin a three-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays — who are 3.0 games ahead of the Yankees for first-place in the AL East. In arguably the biggest series of the Yankees’ season up to this point, they’ll officially be back at full strength for it.