TAMPA, Fla. — Yankees slugger Aaron Judge could be used at times as a leadoff hitter this season.
The 2017 AL Rookie of the Year was at the top of the lineup for Friday’s spring training game against Boston.
"It’s a potential, that’s why we’re deploying it and assessing it," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "We’re going to take a peak here. We’ll see how it feels, simple as that."
Cashman said manager Aaron Boone and Judge discussed the possibility Thursday.
This could give Boone an additional option, especially when opponents start a left-hander that caused the Yankees to rest regular leadoff man Brett Gardner, who hit .209 against lefties last year and .283 against righties.
"We have a left-handed pitcher against us, starting, then you re-shuffle the deck," Cashman said. "Who’s the best hitters against a left-handed opponent and how it should look?"
The idea developed after Boone questioned staff about lineup configurations. Boone is managing for the first time at any level.
"This is an example of when he processes that information and decides to take the next step, and wants to see what it looks like," Cashman said.
Judge says he might have last hit leadoff in high school.
"This morning I wake up and I’m hitting leadoff," Judge said. "It’s just another day. No big deal. It’s something we can do in the season. Get a feel for it in spring training before the games start counting. We’ll see how it goes."
Judge hit .284 with a rookie-record 52 homers, 114 RBIs and a .422 on-base percentage. He walked 127 times but led the major leagues with 208 strikeouts.
Notes: RHP Luis Cessa was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
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