With five starting infielders for four positions, someone would have to sit if Giancarlo Stanton DH’s. Also, the Yanks right now would have either Oswaldo Cabrera or Aaron Hicks as their starting LF.
One of those infielders conceivably has a better bat than Cabrera or Hicks. Cabrera was decent in his first 44 games as a major leaguer, but Hicks was awful.
But to get all five in the lineup, Stanton would have to play the outfield. Manager Aaron Boone has said he’d like to get Stanton into the outfield once or twice a week. More would be risking injury to Stanton, who has been injury prone.
So ok, Stanton plays LF in stadiums with a short LF, like in Boston or Houston, and you probably don’t put him in the outfield if the stadium has astroturf.
But what about in Yankee Stadium? RF is the short field there, and that is Aaron Judge’s position. If Stanton plays RF, Judge can DH but you still have that infield glut.
Earlier this week, I was wondering if Judge, who played a very capable CF last year, could move over to CF with Harrison Bader shifting over to LF. Yankee Stadium has a LF that you really want a CF playing LF because of the dimensions. Two CF if you will. The better defensive one in CF and the other in LF. Which is what you basically would have with Hicks in LF and Bader in CF.
Having Stanton in the outfield and being able to use all five top infielders gives the Yanks a better lineup, as I will demonstrate below. Putting Stanton in RF … especially if the Yankees are facing a lefty pitcher, would really work.
It appears that Boone is thinking the same, but there may be one exception. He would keep Bader in CF (where he has already won a Gold Glove) and move Aaron Judge to LF in order to get Stanton in RF. Judge, being team captain, wouldn’t raise a fuss. He’d do what is best for the team. He could always move back to RF at the end of the game for defensive purposes (with Hicks or Cabrera going to LF).
So, against a lefty pitcher at the Stadium, you could see:
LeMahieu
Judge
Rizzo
Stanton
Torres
Donaldson
Peraza (I am assuming he wins the SS job)
Bader
Trevino
On the bench could be IKF, Hicks, Cabrera and Higashioka. Granted there is only one lefty in the lineup, but it would be against a lefty starter. Hicks and Cabrera, both switch-hitters, could enter the game later if needed.
Putting Stanton in the lineup also helps with flexibility. LeMahieu could DH. He also could play at 1B with Rizzo DHing. or at 2B with Gleyber DHing. Or at 3B with Donaldson DHing. Or, he could play any of those positions and maybe Hicks or Cabrera DH’s, giving Torres, Rizzo or Donaldson a complete day off.
So Judge in LF some days? Don’t be surprised if it happens.
The Sommer Frieze 
