New York Yankees fans may not be in love with manager Aaron Boone, but he has managed some pretty good teams in his brief tenure.
He has taken the Yankees to the postseason in each of his first four seasons, guiding them to the ALCS in 2019.
His success has come in large part due to the options at his disposal.
For example, he has both Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton on his roster and in his starting lineup.
He also has Joey Gallo and Aaron Hicks to round out the outfield.
But entering the 2022 season, Boone has the flexibility to do something a little different than normal.
Giancarlo Stanton's ability to play in the outfield affords Aaron Boone some lineup flexibility that he lacked at this time last year. Stanton has made two starts in RF already. His second outfield start in '21 occurred on July 31. @MLBNetwork #MLBNShowcase
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) April 14, 2022
Flexibility In New York
As Jon Morosi mentions in the tweet above, Stanton has played two games in the outfield already this season after only playing two in the outfield all of 2021.
Stanton usually serves as the team’s designated hitter and has ever since his arrival in the December 2017 trade with the Miami Marlins.
But with Stanton’s flexibility and the fact that he has already managed to play some outfield this season, Boone can have a little more flexibility with his lineup than he did all of last season.
Perhaps this allows Gallo or Judge a chance to DH every once in a while, though Stanton will likely be doing the majority of the work out of that spot.
Though injuries have somewhat derailed his Yankees’ tenure, Stanton still managed to hit .273 with 35 home runs and 97 RBIs.
Ultimately, however many games Stanton plays in the outfield will determine if and when Boone will have a little extra flexibility with his lineup.
Stanton playing in the outfield gives Boone a ton of options.
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