The Best Use of Aaron Judge After the Spencer Jones Call Up

Spencer Jones’ calling card is his power. The New York Yankees are probably hoping that, even if he strikes out a ton, when he does make contact, the ball goes a long way. That’s what he has shown in the minors: a 95.7 MPH average exit velocity, a 58.7% hard-hit rate, and a 29.3% barrel rate, which feels like something one would expect from a player they made in MLB The Show.

A lot will be made of Jones’ hitting — or potentially lack thereof — but the most intriguing part of his game could be what he brings to the outfield. Trent Grisham has been a solid centerfielder for the Yankees, but statistically, he isn’t what he was with the San Diego Padres.

Jones should be the guy in center since Trent Grisham has a -1 OAA out there this year and a -2 OAA in 2025. It probably isn’t going to get any better than that for the mustached slugger.

Defense at the corners

At this point, Grisham may just be a corner outfielder, which is fine, because he, too, has a ton of pop in his bat, and that’s why the Yankees slapped the qualifying offer on him in the first place. Teams don’t pay $22 million for defense, and if having a prolific outfield glove meant anything, Juan Soto wouldn’t have made close to a billion dollars two years ago.

Jones has primarily been a center fielder at AAA, and, after being called up to the big leagues, that’s where he should go. He might have more range out there than Grisham at this point.

The big question could be what happens with Aaron Judge if the Yankees opt for Jones in center and Grisham in right. Considering Judge nearly blew out his elbow last year on a throw, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep him off his feet in case something like that happens again.

If Judge was playing right field the way he did when he was younger, or even last year when he had a 4 OAA, it would be harder to make this case. Right now, as far as right field goes, there may not be much of a difference between Judge and Grisham. Judge has a 0 OAA at the position this year, and it’s something Grisham should be capable of producing as well.

The main point here is less a knock on Judge and more the Yankees not being in the position they were in last year, when they thought he could be lost for the year after an elbow injury. The Yankees saw what their team looked like in 2023 without him, and there’s no reason to test how that lineup will look without Stanton and Judge for prolonged stretches.

Range

If the Yankees will chug along just the same with Grisham out there, it feels like a no-brainer. Grisham may not be able to throw runners out the way Judge can, but the biggest thing will be his range, and at this point, both he and Judge have a similar sprint speed, according to Baseball Savant.

The best outfield the Yankees can roll out right now:

CF: Spencer Jones
LF: Cody Bellinger
RF: Trent Grisham or Aaron Judge

That would be a vacuum. pic.twitter.com/yW9MDgabT3

— Joe Randazzo (@YankeeLibrarian) May 7, 2026

Grisham covers 26.7 feet per second. Judge covers 26.8.

Jones clears both of them. As of mid-April, Jones’ sprint speed was 29.4, according to Baseball America.

Then, as far as left field goes, the answer there is simple. That’s Cody Bellinger. Bellinger is probably the best overall defender among him, Grisham, and Judge.

This angle of Cody’s catch 🔥 pic.twitter.com/esA1Car8OB

— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 3, 2026

Joe Girardi mentioned on the broadcast against the Rangers that Rickey Henderson called left field at Yankee Stadium the hardest place to play during the day, and Bellinger should be just fine out there. It’s not a place for Grisham or Judge at this point, and it especially shouldn’t go to a rookie trying to get his feet wet in the big leagues.

Jasson Dominguez crashing into a chain link fence should be a cautionary tale, and it’s why Brett Gardner had as long of a career as he had. Few were able to handle left field at Yankee Stadium better than him.

2027 and beyond

The best thing about the Jones call-up is that they can get a gauge on how he can be defensively. There’s a chance Grisham will not come back next year, and the Yankees could just opt for Jones to be the everyday center fielder in 2027, or whenever baseball comes back after the lockout.