THE JURY IS OUT ON JUDGE
May start season in minors
DUNEDIN — It’s coming down to Judgement Day — and Aaron Judge may not make the Opening Day roster. Despite having a strong spring, it’s distinctly possible that Judge begins his 2017 season at Triple-A Scranton instead of with the Yankees. The Yankees like Aaron Hicks, who is competing with Judge for the everyday job in right field. “When you look at Aaron Judge, you don’t want him to sit,” Joe Girardi said after Wednesday’s 3-1 exhibition win over the Blue Jays. “So if we don’t think there are enough at-bats for him, that would be the thing that would keep him off the team.” As Girardi pointed out, the Yankees have not named a starter at the position. Judge, 24, was believed to be the favorite heading into camp. Hal Steinbrenner even said he expected Judge to be the team’s everyday right fielder. And he’s certainly responded, raising his spring average to .345 after a two-hit day on Wednesday. Still, he has minor-league options, and it may not matter. Judge has hit three homers and cut down his strikeouts to 13 in 58 at-bats. During his time with the Yankees last season, he struck out 42 times in 84 at-bats and hit .179 with four homers. “Can’t worry about that,” Judge said when asked about potentially going to the minors. “If I go to Double-A or High-A, I’m just going to go out there, play baseball and have fun and everything will work out the way it’s supposed to. My mindset hasn’t changed from Day 1. Everybody should be out here trying to take a job and have fun.”
Hicks, 27, is batting .264 this spring with three homers. He’s the better defensive player due to his speed. Hicks struggled in a reserve role last season, but the Yankees are hopeful he could be a productive player with regular at-bats.
Some in the organization wonder if Judge is ready. But it seems like he is. At least if his spring stats are any indication, anyway.
“It’s part of the game. It’s never easy. It’s tough on them,” Girardi said of the possibility that Judge’s confidence could take a hit if he gets sent down despite his improvement at the plate. “It’s tough on me. It’s tough on our staff because we pull for these guys so much.”
The Yankees want to make a decision before they head to Atlanta for their exhibition game against the Braves on Friday. Jordan Montgomery also closed out a strong spring on Wednesday, giving up one run on six hits in five innings while striking out four.
But Montgomery (3.20 spring ERA), a 24-year-old lefty, doesn’t have a spot on the 40man roster, so it’s also possible he starts at TripleA Scranton. “He’s definitely in the conversation,” Girardi said.
The Yankees won’t require a No. 5 starter until April 16. Brian Cashman said on ESPN radio’s “The Michael Kay Show” that he has informed one of his starters that they’re getting the No. 4 spot. The remaining candidates include Luis Severino, Bryan Mitchell and Chad Green. Severino will make his final spring start on Thursday against the Phillies in Clearwater.
“I feel like I had a pretty good camp,” Montgomery said. “I started off a little shaky. But I got my feet wet facing big-league guys, and got comfortable. I feel like I’ve excelled a bit.”