Aaron Boone Defends Controversial Aaron Judge Move After Yankees' Loss to Blue Jays

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Josh Valdez | Last updated Sep 6, 2025 11:57 AM ET

The New York Yankees entered their home matchup with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday possessing a sorely-needed weapon: generational superstar Aaron Judge in right field.

The former AL Rookie of the Year hadn’t played the field since July due to an elbow injury, and had been exclusively a designated hitter since he returned on August 5. This complicated the rest of the lineup, as the Yankees rotated oft-injured designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton in and out of the outfield to keep him fresh. Center fielder Cody Bellinger and shortstop José Caballero also spent time in right.

However, Judge was still cautious on Friday. The 33-year-old had a chance to throw out Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho at home plate on a Nathan Lukes single in the first inning, but he hit cut off man Jazz Chisholm Jr. instead, allowing Lukes to score easily. Toronto took a 3-0 lead on the play, and New York lost 7-1.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone had a testy exchange with The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner about the play postgame.

“In the first inning, on the Lukes single, Judge got the ball before Varsho touched third base. Is he not able to make that throw? What happened there?” Kirschner asked.

“He just got to it and he scored,” Boone replied.

“So, is he not able to make that throw?” Kirschner asked.

“He's in position to make the throw,” Boone said.

“So, why didn't he?” Kirschner inquired.

“We're handling it how we handle it, OK?” Boone replied.

Judge is back in the designated hitter slot for Saturday’s rematch, with Bellinger in right, via the team’s social media.

My full exchange with Boone about Judge not making the throw home in the first inning:

In the first inning, on the Lukes single, Judge got the ball before Varsho touched third base. Is he not able to make that throw? What happened there?

He just got to it and he scored.

So,…
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) September 6, 2025

Yankees Must Be Careful With Aaron Judge

The fact that Boone said on Friday that Judge won’t play in right field every day shows that he’s not fully healthy yet, via MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. Add on the first-inning play, and it suggests that the future Hall of Famer making long throws is still not optimal for his arm at this time.

Although putting Judge in right allows Stanton to return to designated hitter, it’s not worth the risk of further injury if he’s not yet 100 percent. Additionally, it doesn’t help the team if the veteran can’t throw home when they need him to.

Yankees right-handed pitcher Luis Gil will start against Blue Jays right-handed Chris Bassitt on Saturday.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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