Overview

• The Yankees’ Sunday lineup on X listed Aaron Judge in right field for the first time since July 25, a surprise defensive return confirmed by MLB reporter Bryan Hoch.
• Aaron Boone has swung between caution and reassurance, from saying on WFAN that Judge was unlikely to throw normally this season to highlighting “creative cuts” and sidestepping questions about limits.
• Recent plays showed clear throwing constraints, including a short toss to Jazz Chisholm Jr. on a Nathan Lukes single, which critics contrasted with Cody Bellinger’s 95.3 mph throw from right field.
• Judge says everything feels pretty good and that if he can throw he should play, as Boone frames the plan as playing the long game with the captain’s arm.
• Fans and columnists accuse the team of misleading updates, citing the 2018 wrist timeline as precedent, and warn the defensive gamble could hurt the Yankees as they chase the Blue Jays.