Yankees' Aaron Judge says he's quite comfortable playing centerfield

Aaron Judge was all smiles as he recalled his second career big-league start in centerfield two days earlier.

"I feel great out there," he said late Friday afternoon.

On Friday night against the Red Sox, Judge was not at the position he played more than any other when he was at Fresno State; he instead was at the position he’s played the most since being chosen in the first round of the 2013 draft by the Yankees: rightfield.

Judge’s start Wednesday night in center went well enough — he wasn’t tested much in the victory over the Rays but did easily handle the one ball hit his way — that the Yankees, who have a shortage of outfielders, might give him a handful more appearances there.

Which is just fine with the 6-7, 282-pound Judge, who has referred to center as "the best seat in the house" more than a few times over the years.

"I played that in college, played it growing up," he said Friday. "I enjoy rightfield, playing rightfield, but in centerfield, you get better reads. I feel like you can kind of see the pitch coming in. I feel at home out there. I'll play wherever they want me to — leftfield, centerfield, right, it doesn't matter — but I feel as comfortable as ever out there in center. It just took me a day to get some reps out there pregame [Wednesday], but after that, I was ready to roll."

Before that, Judge’s lone start in center in the big leagues came March 31, 2018, at Rogers Centre against the Blue Jays. The scenario then was similar to those that led to his start in center on Wednesday.

Three years ago, the primary contributing factors were injuries to Aaron Hicks and Jacoby Ellsbury and not wanting to run Brett Gardner, then 35, into the ground. This time around, it’s injuries — again to Hicks, among others — and not wanting to run Gardner, 37, into the ground.

(Judge had one putout in that game, and Gardner wound up replacing current Met Billy McKinney in leftfield in the first inning after McKinney suffered a shoulder injury.)

Aaron Boone indicated last week that Clint Frazier might be an option in center, but that has not occurred to this point. The Yankees seem most comfortable with Judge as the alternative to Gardner.

"He’s a great outfielder, he’s a good athlete, he’s fundamentally incredibly sound as a defender," Boone said Wednesday. "Look, obviously to be an everyday centerfielder in the major leagues takes a more unique skill set, but I think any outfielder would probably tell you going from a corner to go to play center is probably a little easier than the opposite. To be a regular centerfielder, obviously, there's more to it. [But] I think he'll handle it fine and it'll be seamless. And I just think he's equipped athletically and fundamentally to go over there and handle it."

Judge, who entered Friday hitting .289 with a team-best 13 homers and .922 OPS in 54 games, said he does not have any concerns about how center, and the additional ground generally required to cover to play the position, might impact him physically.

He has had his share of physical issues in recent seasons, which has led the Yankees to be super-conservative with him this season in regard to giving him DH days and outright off days.

"I just have to stretch out a little bit longer," Judge said of the difference in preparation. "That's about it, nothing really changes. I'm still running around in right. Like you said, centerfield is a little bit more . . . but I just have to make sure I’m stretched and ready to go. The preparation really wasn't that different."