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Aaron Judge might just add a new trophy to his award case.
And no, it’s not another MVP or Silver Slugger.
After moving back to his original position, the Yankees star is among the top right fielders in the American League nearly halfway through the 2025 season, setting him up for a shot to win the first Gold Glove of his illustrious big league career.
Through Wednesday’s play, Judge led all American League right fielders with at least 200 innings played at the position with a plus-4 Fielding Run Value, according to MLB’s Statcast, suggesting he’s much more comfortable manning the green grass in front of the Bleacher Creatures.
In terms of Outs Above Average, Judge at plus-2 trails only the Red Sox’s Wilyer Abreu and the Astros’ Cam Smith, who are both plus-3.
On Monday night against the Angels, Judge showed off his outfield prowess with perhaps his most impressive play of the season.
In the top of the fifth inning of a scoreless game, Logan O’Hoppe hit a slicing fly ball to the right field corner of Yankee Stadium.
Like a wide receiver on a fade route, Judge sprinted toward the foul pole, covering 100 feet of outfield grass to make the running catch just in front of the right field wall.
The play was Judge’s first “five-star” catch since 2021, per Statcast, and had a catch probability of just 20 percent.
He’s also in the Gold Glove conversation thanks to one of the best outfield arms in the league.
Judge has prevented two extra runs from baserunners, which is the third-most among all AL outfielders, behind only the Guardians’ Steven Kwan and Nolan Jones.
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With a cannon for an arm, runners have been more hesitant to run on Judge than any other outfielder in the league, according to Statcast, meaning opponents are holding tight rather than attempting to take an extra base more often than not when the ball is hit his way.
Judge’s excellent play in right field comes after a lackluster showing as the Yankees’ center fielder, where he moved with the addition of Juan Soto last year.
In 105 games in center in 2024, Judge had minus-6 OAA — and that doesn’t capture his catastrophic center field gaffe in the fifth inning of Game 5 of the World Series in October.
Now, after switching back to the corner, not only is Judge much improved in the field, but the Yankees’ entire outfield has done an about-face from a year ago.
After finishing with minus-11 OAA in 2024, the seventh-worst in baseball, the Yankees outfield is now solidly above average at plus-2 OAA.
Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham, two more natural center fielders, have slid into the position nicely, combining for plus-4 OAA.
If Judge keeps his current pace, he’ll have his best shot at a Gold Glove since the late 2010s, when he was a two-time finalist (2017 and 2018), when the slick-fielding Royals right fielder Alex Gordon beat him out in back-to-back seasons.
With a Hall of Fame-worthy resume already, Judge’s defense has him on the cusp of adding yet another accolade.
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