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MINNEAPOLIS – The Yankees were well received on Wednesday as Aaron Judge ran across the diamond to train with the entire team for the first time since July 26th. -7, a 282-pound slugger, caught a bat and conducted spray pipes all over Target Field.
The Yankees remain optimistic about his return from the injury before the end of the season, but they offered little detail beyond that. He first needs sticks, probably in simulated games at the Yankees complex in Tampa.
Whenever the judge returns to the lineup, manager Aaron Boone will have a puzzle to solve: one of three usual out-of-field games he has used recently – veteran Brett Gardner, reliable Aaron Hicks and the recent acquired Andrew McCutchen – will have to leave. on the bench
And the decision may not be as simple as placing Judge in the right field instead of McCutchen, the five-time All-Star with Pittsburgh and the most valuable former player in the National League – especially with the Yankees short.
"I think they'll all play a role," Boone said Wednesday. "There is no doubt that there will be an everyday player who will be more seated than he has ever been."
Hicks seems the safest bet to stay where he is in the short term. Playing exclusively in the central field, Hicks posted career highs this season in games played (124), bats (435), shots (106), home runs (24) and series (68) .
"That's why I've been so productive this year: I've been in programming pretty much every day," said Hicks. "It's good for me that all I have to do is go out and produce, and I'm here the next day."
Defensively, Hicks, 28, covers more ground than Gardner, 35 or McCutchen, 31. But with the way his team plays, the determining factor for Boone could be the attack and not the defense.
The Yankees started Thursday with a one-day lead over Oakland Athletics to secure the top spot in the AHL. During their recent season 7-9, which allowed Oakland to fill the gap, the Yankees have unfortunately underperformed with the men at the base. During the nine-game road trip they just finished, the Yankees had 10 wins in 59 (.169) and the runners scored. Half of those successes came Monday night in a 7-2 victory in Minnesota, the only win in a three-game series against a club that the Yankees have generally dominated since 2002.
If this continues, Boone, the rookie manager, could be forced to play who wants. Unfortunately for him, none of the three are right now.
McCutchen has a .152 average as Yankee; he was 2-in-8 with five steps in the Minnesota series. Hicks, a hitter, scored 3-in-27 (.111) on the road-trip and has not had a successful match since August 30.
Gardner beat .209 in August, but was 7-by-25 (.280) on the trip – though he missed the last two games after getting injured in the right knee when he was injured. a catch up Monday. Boone is expecting Gardner to return for the first game of the series Friday against Toronto at Yankee Stadium.
"I think defense matters," said Boone. "I think that swinging bat really matters. I think we're against that, on the other side, I think all of these things are taken into account when you make those kinds of decisions. "
Gardner and McCutchen could also play center, if they had to. McCutchen is a former gold medal winner of the National League who has changed center this season when the Pirates traded him to San Francisco. Gardner, who is above all a left-field player, has played about a third of his career games, including 26 this year.
The position of typing order could also be a factor. Boone told Minnesota that he expected to place the judge in his second usual place on his return. Boone experimented with McCutchen in all three games in Minnesota, dropping Gardner to ninth place, and McCutchen reached the base eight times in the series.
This weekend, the judge, who hit .285 with 26 home runs in 99 games before his injury, should train longer at Yankee Stadium before the club decides on the future for him. At best, he could come back next week. It does not give Gardner, Hicks or McCutchen a lot of time to make it necessary.
"It's a good problem because we have Aaron Judge back in the lineup, and we decide between two very good players for those who are in the lineup on a given day," said Boone. "It will only strengthen our list. This will only strengthen our bench. This will only make us more able to match, not only at the beginning of the game, but as the game unfolds. "
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