For the first time since July 25, Aaron Judge will patrol right field for the New York Yankees on Friday. Judge had been limited to DH duty since suffering a flexor strain in his throwing arm late last month. He had started 27 consecutive games at DH since coming off the injured list on Aug. 5.

Judge suffered the flexor strain while making a throw on July 22. He stayed in that game, then DHed the next day. The day after that was a team off-day, and then he tried to play the field on July 25. Judge was clearly compromised with his throws; however, the Yankees placed him on the injured list the next day. Judge spent the minimum 10 days on the shelf.

Over the last few weeks, Judge has been on a throwing program that gradually increased from playing catch at short distances to throwing to the bases. Depending on who you ask, Judge's throwing will be limited the rest of the year. Even if it isn't, opposing teams will challenge Judge and make him prove his arm, which is typically above-average, is up to the task.

With Judge limited to DH the last few weeks, Giancarlo Stanton played the outfield for the first time since Sept. 2023. He played 14 games in right field and three in left. Stanton is a liability defensively, given his lack of speed, but he's hitting .283/.362/.609 with 18 home runs in 58 games this season. The Yankees couldn't take him out of the lineup, so the outfield he played.

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Mike Axisa

Judge, 33, has been very good since returning from the injured list, but also not as dominant as usual. He's hitting .242/.415/.474 with six home runs in 27 games since the flexor strain. Prior to the injury, Judge authored a .342/.449/.711 line with 37 home runs in 103 games. He still leads baseball in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.

The Yankees play Friday in the top wild card spot with a 78-62 record. They are three games behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East. The Yankees will host the Blue Jays for three games at Yankee Stadium this weekend.