Former Yankees hitting coach Sean Casey is not a fan of Aaron Judge playing center field regularly after the Juan Soto acquisition.
There could be one downside to the Yankees acquiring Juan Soto.
Former Yankees hitting coach Sean Casey expressed concern Wednesday with the Yankees making Aaron Judge their starting center fielder to allow Soto to play right field.
“No. No. No. No. No. I do not want Judgie as my center fielder,” Casey said on “The Mayor’s Office” podcast. “I just think center field is so demanding, dude, it’s so demanding, and he’s such a big guy, and to have to demand him to go so far in the gaps and be on the run — you have to cover more ground as a center fielder. The wear and tear on his body — I don’t like it.”
He added: “I don’t like Judgie in center, though, I really don’t. I don’t think (Aaron Boone) does, either.”
Casey, who was the Yankees’ hitting coach in the latter half of last season, has close ties with Boone from their playing days.
By acquiring Soto and Alex Verdugo, and with Giancarlo Stanton locked into the designated hitter role, the Yankees have painted themselves in a box in terms of who will man center field on a regular basis.
