MVP Move

BY KEVIN KERNAN

Don’t tempt fate, Yankees.

It appears the Yankees dodged a bullet with Aaron Judge’s elbow issues this week being announced as only a flexor strain. But we all know how those things can go. A flexor strain can soon become something much worse.

Judge said he initially felt elbow pain when he unleashed a throw home in Toronto against the Blue Jays. He will be on the injured list for 10 days, resting the elbow and will return as a designated hitter, which makes it dicey for the defensive-challenged Yankees because when Judge DHs, Giancarlo Stanton will have to go into the outfield – and that could create another injury to the often-injured Stanton, not to mention weaken the Yankees defense even more.

The answer to the entire Judge situation was staring the Yankees in the face on Sunday at Yankee Stadium where the Yankees snuck away with a 4-3 win over the Phillies while losing another series in the process. Bryce Harper was at first base once again for the Phillies.

The Phillies in 2023 took their superstar outfielder and moved him to first base. After 11 seasons in the outfield, Harper moved to first base when he returned from Tommy John surgery. Hopefully Judge returns fully healthy from this flexor strain, but the Yankees have to ask themselves is it worth it to keep Judge in right field?

Perhaps the next long throw by Judge could create more damage to his arm. Perhaps it won’t, but Judge will be 34 years old next season and continuing to play the $360 million man in right field is risky business on a number of levels.

Judge told me years ago that he could move to first base when I asked him about a position change.

Judge needs to move to first base and this injury should expedite the process. The Yankees have no long term first baseman on their roster. Paul Goldschmidt, who turns 38 on September 10th, is holding down the position for now and is on a one-year deal.

On Sunday the Yankees started Ben Rice, a catcher, at first base, and then brought in Goldschmidt for defensive purposes.

I’ve always felt Judge should move to first base at some point in his career. In 2023 the Yankee season was completely derailed when Judge injured his right big toe in right field at Dodger Stadium. The injury, a torn ligament, caused him to miss 42 games. The Yankees missed out on the watered-down playoffs that season at 82-80.

The Yankees should have really started the change in positions after that situation but didn’t.

Judge told me years ago that he could move to first base when I asked him about a position change. He was a first baseman in high school and also his freshman year at Fresno State, so he is familiar with the position and just think of the advantages of having Anthony Volpe and others throwing to a 6-7 target at first base.

And even though Ron Washington once said in the movie Moneyball, “it’s incredibly hard,’’ I have no doubt that Judge could master the first base position. In February 2023 workouts at the Yankees complex Judge was spotted playing first base. Aaron Boone said at the time there was nothing to the story and Judge was not moving to first base and added, “Maybe five years from now.’’

How about now?

That is something Judge can start working on in practice as soon as he gets medical clearance.

For a change, Brian Cashman’s Yankees need to be proactive instead of reactive.  Start working Judge in at the position and then next year with a full spring training at the position, Judge should be fine.

If Judge is at first base that clears designated hitter for Stanton, who is signed through the 2027 season. In 2028 the Yankees have a club option for $10 million buyout on Stanton’s deal, or they could keep him around and pay him another $25 million.

And just think, by moving Judge to first base the Yankees actually solve three problems at once. They have their first baseman for years to come and there will be much less wear and tear on Judge’s aging body. Now they don’t have to go out and sign another free agent first baseman like they did this year with Goldschmidt.

By putting Judge at first, that keeps Stanton off the field on defense. Stanton is a tremendous defensive liability, and odds are he would somehow injure himself in the outfield.

I can just hear Boone saying one day before a game, “G has a little tightness in his calf.’’

The third benefit of moving Judge to first base is that the Yankees could go out in the free agent market and sign an outfielder. Gee, I wonder who will be out there after the season. Oh, that’s right, only one of the best all-around players in Kyle Tucker, who is hitting .274 with 18 home runs and 58 RBI, has 23 stolen bases, and is a great defender for the first-place Cubs.

Maybe if the Yankees went out and signed premier free agents once in a while, instead of their version of dumpster diving, they would once again win the World Series like they last did in 2009. Before that season the Yankees decided to spend big money and unleashed a $242 million signing spree, bringing CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and AJ Burnett to the Bronx.

Sabathia spent his Sunday afternoon in Cooperstown, being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Perhaps that was a gentle reminder to Hal Steinbrenner that the Yankees need to bring in the right big money free agents to win a World Series again.

There is no downside to Judge becoming a full-time first baseman. This move also makes perfect sense because the Yankees love to move the chess pieces all over the board anyway and have no qualms about playing Ben Rice, who does not know how to play the position, at first base.

The Yankees always seem to have to be pushed into a corner before they make a decision that makes some sense. The Yankees had no third baseman this year even though they played a lot of players at third base. The Yankee Nerds, who run this ship, finally had to admit, “Oh yeah, the hot corner really is the hot corner, and we need to go out and get a real third baseman.’’

So, they went out and traded for the Rockies’ Ryan McMahon, a move I said on the Rickie Ricardo Show on WFAN last Saturday night that they definitely would make. McMahon has struggled mightily with the bat in Colorado, but he can flat out play third base and perhaps the change in scenery will help him hit. He picked up a key two-run double Sunday in the win over the Phillies to set up the Yankees four-run second inning against one of the best pitchers in the game in Zack Wheeler.

And even if the Yankees don’t go out and get a free agent outfielder, a move to first by Judge could create a space in the outfield for Spencer Jones in the future.

From every angle you look at it, the move of Judge to first base makes sense, if Judge is able to make the transition and I have all the belief in the world that it would be a move that Judge will excel at just as Harper has for the Phillies.

When Phillies baseball boss Dave Dombrowski came to ask Harper to make the move, Harper said, “I wanted them to know that I was on board with anything they wanted to do. I said if you want me in right field, I’ll play right. If you want me at first, I will play first, and I think as a collective they said first base is where we want you, and I said, okay, I’m going to do anything I can to be there.’’

The Yankees had Harper, 32, right in front of them for the series against the Phillies in the Bronx. And here is another thing, say Judge comes back quickly in the process and is back in right field for the stretch run – on any balls hit to right field, you just know opposing teams will test him so that ramping up of throws is going to come quickly – and that could put a strain on Judge’s arm. At first base the throws are much shorter. It’s a totally different game.

The bottom line here is the Yankees cannot continue to waste MVP-like seasons from Aaron Judge.  And think back to last year, the Yankees had Judge out of position in centerfield in Game 5 of the World Series against the Dodgers and it cost them with that fifth-inning error, so it’s not like the Yankees haven’t moved Judge around.

He will be the DH when he returns, that’s a given, he will have to prove he can play right field before the Yankees put him out there again, so there is that too.

At the least, Aaron Judge should be the Yankees starting first baseman for 2026. At 34, he does not need to be running around the outfield and making long throws. First base would mean less wear and tear on his body. A long time ago the Yankees had to move Mickey Mantle to first base, and I remember it well. That was 1967. Mickey was 35 and his knees were shot. He played there in 1968 as well. It was strange to see but it had to be done, and it should have been done much sooner.

The Yankees have to figure out where Judge can play the most games moving forward so they can get the most out of Aaron Judge. Making that transition to first as soon as possible would lengthen his career. As long as Stanton is around there is no room for Judge at DH, except for an occasional game.

First base is wide open, and the Yankees would immediately have a slugger at the position and a home for Aaron Judge for years to come. This is a no-brainer. Don’t mess it up Yankees. Bring Aaron Judge home … to first base.