TAMPA — Hal Steinbrenner said he believes Aaron Judge is going to be the Yankees’ starting right fielder, and the hope throughout the organization is Judge’s power is enough to override a high strikeout total.
But Joe Girardi isn’t ready to hand the job to Judge.
“I think it’s somewhat of an open competition,” Girardi said Friday after a spring training workout at George M. Steinbrenner Field. “Obviously, Aaron Judge came up last year, and at times, he had some good days, and at times, he struggled. Then he got hurt, which was really unfortunate because it seemed like he was getting back on track when he got hurt. I thought he was making adjustments.”
In 27 games last year, the 6-foot-7, 282-pound Judge batted .179 with four homers and 10 RBIs and fanned 42 times in 84 at-bats. He suffered a right oblique problem in the middle of September.
While Judge is the favorite for right field going into the exhibition schedule, he is not the only one in the mix.
“Aaron Hicks is another person you are going to look at,” Girardi said of the switch-hitter, who batted .217 in 123 games last season, his first with the Yankees. “He seemed to play better when he got more consistent playing time. You have two kids with a really lot of tools, but what will determine who plays right field is who plays at a higher level and a more consistent level.”
Dellin Betances is expected in camp Saturday after his arbitration case was heard Friday in St. Petersburg, Fla. Betances stayed out of camp with the Yankees’ blessing before the hearing. The verdict will be announced Saturday.
Betances, an All-Star the past three seasons, filed for $5 million, and the Yankees filed at $3 million.
Jacoby Ellsbury won’t report to spring training with the Yankees’ position players Saturday and won’t be on hand for the first full-squad workout Sunday.
According to Girardi, Ellsbury’s wife, Kesley Ellsbury, had labor induced Friday, and the center fielder could be in camp by “maybe Monday.”
Justus Sheffield has made a good early impression on Girardi.
“I think he has really good makeup. I see a young man who is focused and has confidence in his ability,” Girardi said of the 20-year-old left-hander who was acquired from the Indians in the Andrew Miller deal last July. “Being an athlete, he should be able to repeat his delivery, which obviously is really important. He has a good young arm and works extremely hard. He is hungry and those are the things you like about this kid. All these kids have good stuff, but a lot of times, the intangibles decide how far you are going to go in this game.’’
Coming off right knee surgery, CC Sabathia is being brought along slowly by the Yankees.
“CC is going a little bit slower so we have to wait and see when he makes his first start,” Girardi said. “He might throw a few more simulated games depending on where we think he is at.”