Aaron Judge would switch positions for Harper, but should he?

Spring training is right around the corner and Bryce Harper still doesn’t have a team to play for. New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is hoping his pitch to Harper works.

The New York Yankees have yet to make that splash free agency signing that fans are accustomed to around this time of year. It’s looking less and less likely that they’ll sign Manny Machado even though the third baseman is holding out hope that the Yankees get back into the race.

Just because they won’t be signing Machado doesn’t mean that they can’t or won’t sign free agent outfielder Bryce Harper. Just imagine the kind of lineup the Yankees could put together by adding a player like Harper.

Well, Aaron Judge is and he’s even willing to switch positions to accommodate signing Harper. Then again he doesn’t really have to, which is the best part about all of this.

TMZ Sports caught up with Judge and he told them he’d switch positions in a second if that’s what it took to get him on the team. Judge even added that, “wherever he wants to play, we’ll make it work.” That’s a pretty team-first thing to say from Judge, and a sign of a good leader.

While Yankees fans will probably appreciate the offer, it’s also important to be realistic. Judge has played 259 games in the outfield in his career and 258 of them have been in right field. The one game he played in center field was the third game of the season in 2018 and happened only because essentially every other outfielder on the roster was hurt and the Yankees had no choice.

Bryce Harper, on the other hand, has played at least 184 games at all three outfield spots. Right field is obviously where he’s most comfortable, but clearly he’s more versatile than Judge. It’s also more realistic that if anyone would move positions it would have to be to left field.

With the uncertainty of Clint Frazier’s health and the age of Brett Gardner, left field is the weak spot in the outfield. The Yankees are also rumored to be exploring a trade possibility with the San Francisco Giants to get rid of Jacoby Ellsbury’s contract. If they were able to move Ellsbury that would free up an extra outfield roster spot for Harper. It would be a win for both the Yankees and for Judge.