Source - Yankees won't consider having Aaron Judge play first base - ESPN

NEW YORK — The Yankees are not considering having Aaron Judge play first base when he returns from the injured list, a source told ESPN, with the two-time MVP to be slotted at designated hitter until he's given the green light to throw from the outfield.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone's plan for Judge, who was placed on the injured list Sunday with a right flexor strain, is based on the expectation that he will return after the minimum 10-day absence.

The hope is Judge resumes throwing in 10 to 14 days and works his way back to being available in the outfield.

Judge, 33, played first base in high school and has worked out at first base during spring training in recent years. Playing the position would be easier on his arm — he said Saturday that he «couldn't throw past 60 feet.» But Judge has never played the position as a professional, and the Yankees aren't going to ask their superstar to make the difficult transition midseason, though it could be something that is considered in the future.

With Judge slated to return as the DH, Boone said Giancarlo Stanton is scheduled to begin working out in the outfield this week to become an option there. Stanton hasn't played the outfield since 2023, when he started 31 games in right field and two in left field.

Boone said Stanton's role as the Yankees' everyday DH impacted the team's decision to place Judge on the injured list to focus on healing his forearm strain with the hopes of him returning to the outfield over having him limited to DH.

«There's the feeling that if he just DH'd now, that he probably would not compromise his UCL,» Boone said. «Obviously, throwing would. That said, there is a gripping component to it and it's probably, obviously, not like the defensive side, but