Yankees outfield is crowded; what to do?

Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton

Of the remaining “outfielders,” Stanton and Judge do not fit the typical middle infield physique. That being said, anything is possible; maybe Stanton would be a great fielding second baseman. But judging by previous performances and size of the “twin towers,” the two look most similar to Gold Glove first and third basemen.

Both very tall and muscular, Judge and Stanton match with the larger generic profile of the corner infielders. But besides the physicality of good corner infielders, generally, mediocre fielding corner infielders still make do and perform well. Or at least we think they do.

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On average, Gold Glove third basemen save just under three runs a season. That’s not all that much for the best fielders. And first basemen are even worse, averaging around one defensive run saved per year. Taking that into account, average defensive ability corner infielders should be even worse than that, right?

Judge and Stanton both also closely replicate the average DEF rating via Fangraphs of Gold Glove first basemen and outfielders (since 1980), so perhaps the two do belong in the outfield.

With the crowded Yankees’ outfield, it wouldn’t hurt to test these two players out at the corner spots, at least during practices, maybe even Spring Training.

On top of that, defense is not that important in baseball. Last season, Andrelton Simmons saved the most runs through his defense; 32. AND, only 77 players’ defense last season saved any runs at all. In a league of 750+ players, that’s pretty measly.

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Having the ability to play either of the Yankees’ two powerhouses in the infield would greatly improve the Yanks’ lineup, as newly acquired Brandon Drury has seen considerable playing time at second base, which could allow Judge or Stanton to play third base, leaving an extra infield spot open for grabs.

Or even allowing for players to get days off here and there (Greg Bird), and focusing on keeping the team healthy for a playoff run