Aaron Judge makes his feelings known on Cody Bellinger's place in Yankees lineup

After Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees lost out in the battle to re-sign Juan Soto, they brought in Cody Bellinger as one of the sluggers to fill in the depleted spot in the lineup. The 2019 MVP's addition is of particular importance, as he also slots in the center field position to ease the workload off Aaron Judge who will move to right field.

Cody Bellinger's career has seen a lot of ups and downs. After taking the league by storm from 2017 to 2019 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was eventually non-tendered three years back because of his lack of production. With the Chicago Cubs, he balanced out a bounce-back 2023 with a below par 2024, where he hit 18 home runs at a .266 batting average and 111 OPS+.

However, the Yankees bringing him into their fold also has a lot to do with his bat swing that will aid his pull. If he had played all his games at the Yankee Stadium last season, as per Statcast, he would have six more home runs. Even though 24 home runs aren't as good as Soto's production, the Yankees would take it, especially having added others like Paul Goldschmidt.

As per Aaron Judge, who spoke to YES Network after their latest Spring Training game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Bellinger is set for a special season:

"I’m excited. I’ve seen him hit a lot of homers over my head, especially with the Cubs and Dodgers. It’s going to be exciting to see him do it in pinstripes. This ballpark was made for him — he’s a guy that can work the count and leave the yard in any direction, especially to right field at home.

"He’s going to fit nicely in the lineup, especially with Goldschmidt behind him, Jazz, or whoever else is hitting in that spot. It’s going to be something special. [00:20 onwards]

Cody Bellinger's 47 home runs in 2019 remains his career best, but perhaps the Yankee Stadium dimensions will provide the impetus he needs to regain his MVP-callibre form.

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Aaron Judge makes his feelings known about working with Cody Bellinger in outfield

As outfielders, it's important to be in conjunction with teammates. Perfect communication helps in making better plays. That's the goal for Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger as they look to settle in as partners.

As per Judge, speaking to MLB Network Radio on Friday, he's looking forward to working with Bellinger.

“It’s gonna be a little different -- in center field, you’re going after every single ball and you’ve got priority over everybody if it’s yours.

"Now I’m getting a chance to kind of play with Cody a little bit … so just learning about his range, how he communicates, what he does. All those guys, they communicate so well, so it’s gonna be a lot of fun playing next to them.”

Bellinger won the Gold Glove award in outfield in 2019. If he regains his defensive and offensive abilities, it will aid Judge, who bears the brunt of the responsbility of the Yankees offense.