With Judge Likely Out for Season, Who Should Take Over the Starting Job in Right?

With New York Yankees rookie Aaron Judge likely out for the season with an oblique injury, the team has several options for how to replace him in right field.

New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge exited Tuesday night’s 3-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers after the fourth inning with what was later revealed to be a right oblique strain. Judge grimaced after fouling off a pitch and was clearly in discomfort until being removed from the game.

He’s scheduled for an MRI Wednesday to see how serious the injury is, but there is a very real possibility he has played his last game for New York in 2016 according to Sweeny Murti of WFAN. The team is likely to be very cautious with Judge given his importance to the organization’s future.

Even in the best case scenario, it’s hard to imagine Judge would miss less than a week or so. No one wants to take the risk of re-injuring himself and turning this into a lingering problem.

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Also, frankly Judge is not doing a ton to contribute to the team’s playoff run at the moment, and this may give the Yankees the chance to quietly replace the struggling rookie in the lineup without making headlines and hurting the kid’s confidence.

With Aaron Hicks also sidelined with an injury, New York is running a little short on outfield depth, but they have plenty of interesting options to take over the starting job.

Rob Refsnyder was seen by many as the most obvious choice for Judge’s short-term replacemen. He has been used in the outfield as a platoon option lately, but he has been something of a disappointment at the plate this year, hitting .268/.342/.333 (81 wRC+) in 159 plate appearances in the big leagues. His power numbers are way down from his production in Triple-A the last few years. 

It’s worth wondering if the club should take this opportunity to try out someone other than Refsnyder in right field considering he’s not expected to have the bat to stick their long-term.

One possibility is that Ref just holds down the fort until Aaron Hicks comes off the disabled list. Hicks has resumed baseball activities and is expected to rejoin the team next Tuesday for the start of their series in Tampa Bay. 

Maybe the most intriguing player for the job is outfielder Mason Williams, who looked ready to take over a bench role in 2015 before undergoing shoulder surgery that ended his season and lingered into this year. The two-time Baseball America Top 100 prospect has hit .296/.313/.376 in 138 plate appearances for Scranton Wilkes-Barre since returning from the disabled list.

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Williams has been called up in the wake of the injury, although that doesn’t necessarily mean he will replace Judge in the starting lineup. He will likely get a shot at the job at some point though, so if he plays well, he could force his way into more regular playing time.