NEW YORK — Juan Soto was frustrated while watching the Toronto Blue Jays intentionally walk Aaron Judge four times last weekend. So were the New York Yankees fans in attendance, who were hoping to see Judge crush another baseball out of the ballpark.
On Friday, Judge hit the third-longest home run of his career when he blasted a 477-foot moon shot into the left-field bleachers. He then hit a home run in the first inning of Saturday’s game, which led to the Blue Jays intentionally walking him with no one on base and two outs in the second inning. Toronto manager John Schneider said he was sick of watching Judge punish his team, so he took the bat out of his hands.
Advertisem*nt
“It sucks. You want him at the plate,” Soto said of the Blue Jays’ strategy. “I’m doing my best to put him up and you see them pass him over. It just really makes me mad. I don’t like that. I want them to challenge him and see what he can really do. It is what it is. It’s part of the game. They’re trying to win, too, so you respect that.”
Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington said he won’t walk Judge with no one on base like the Blue Jays did, but he will do it in other situations because Judge is “a bad boy.” Washington added that he wants the Angels to avoid letting Judge beat them if they can. This means it will be up to Austin Wells, Giancarlo Stanton and the rest of the lineup to do damage if Judge is on base.
The Captain Connects 💪#AllRise pic.twitter.com/864Hq3M6YT
See AlsoWhy Yankees' Aaron Judge honors Brett Gardner at games: 'Don't want people to forget him'UFC Predictions for Fight Night: Tybura vs. Spivak 2Bryce Harper's prolonged slump, pitching staff troubles among reasons for Phillies' recent slide— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 3, 2024
Because of how carefully teams are pitching the American League MVP-leading candidate, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said over the last couple of weeks he’s considered flipping Judge and Soto in the order. If Boone flipped the two, the Yankees would have the second-best hitter in MLB hitting behind the best hitter. The thought is that opposing pitchers would feel like they have to pitch to Judge because Soto is almost as dangerous.
It’s not imminent, but don’t be surprised if the change happens at some point.
“It’s something that I’d at least consider, and it kind of depends,” Boone said. “Now getting Giancarlo back in the mix, does it make sense from a lineup construction as a whole, being able to (hit) right, left, right, left a little bit more? When we’re against a righty, we’re three out of four lefties at the top, so you can split some things up. It’s something I’ve at least thought about.”
Part of the reason Boone hasn’t made the move is that there’s no compelling reason to disrupt the offense. Entering Wednesday’s doubleheader, the Yankees had the best offense in MLB with a 120 wRC+. Judge’s and Soto’s production are major factors in why the Yankees have been so dominant offensively.
Advertisem*nt
Looking deeper at the lineup, there are weak spots. The Yankees’ Nos. 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 hitters have a combined 94 wRC+ and .681 OPS this season, 17th in MLB. It’s no secret why opposing teams would rather take their chances at getting anyone else out. Where the Yankees have failed this season is in their cleanup spot; they have the second-worst wRC+ in MLB, with only the Colorado Rockies performing worse.
The debate over whether Judge should hit second instead of third won’t continue if Wells keeps hitting the way he has since moving to the cleanup spot. Entering Wednesday’s game, Wells has a .944 OPS in the 12 games he’s batted fourth. As long as he sustains, or comes close to sustaining, that level of production, teams may be less inclined to avoid pitching to Judge. But for now, Boone is evaluating the best approach for the Yankees’ batting order on a game-to-game and series-to-series basis.
“I look at it as a lineup as a whole and what makes the most sense for scoring runs,” Boone said. “We’ve been doing a really good job of that, whether they’ve been putting Judge on or not. I kind of obsess on trying to add as much balance as I can. That’ll factor in. Getting (Stanton) back into the mix and getting him going again could factor into that, too, when you look at the first four or five hitters in the lineup. All things that I pay attention to, but I feel offensively, we’re in a pretty good place right now.”
Soto Pop 💥 pic.twitter.com/tww2OIQyXW
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 4, 2024
One thing that Boone said he probably wouldn’t consider is batting Judge and Soto Nos. 1 and 2 in the lineup. The Yankees would be even more top-heavy than they already are, but it would guarantee both receive the most at-bats in every game. It’s the same strategy the Los Angeles Dodgers deployed when Mookie Betts was healthy; Betts hit leadoff and Shohei Ohtani batted second.
If the Yankees continue playing the way they have since the All-Star break, it’s likely the Nos. 2 and 3 spots in their order will stay status quo. As for the entertainment aspect of not watching Judge hit if more teams opt to intentionally walk him, Boone said he hadn’t thought about whether the rule should change. It’s also too early to discuss potential rule changes because Judge has only been intentionally walked 59 times in his career. He still has 630 to go to pass Barry Bonds for the MLB record.
Advertisem*nt
“I think the one thing Major League Baseball has done a good job of recently is having the courage to do some things that haven’t always been in line with the way MLB has done things,” Boone said.
“I don’t know how I feel about that. It’s an interesting thought.”
(Top photo of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
Chris Kirschner is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the New York Yankees. He previously covered the Atlanta Hawks from 2018-2022 for The Athletic. Chris was named Georgia's Sportswriter of the Year in 2021 for his work covering the Hawks. Chris is a native of Bronx, NY. Follow Chris on Twitter @chriskirschner
