Replacing Aaron Judge at center field, Cody Bellinger reveals plan on manning the outfield

The New York Yankees traded for Cody Bellinger in the offseason from the Chicago Cubs. The team plans to play him center field, replacing captain Aaron Judge, who played his age-32 season last year in that position. Judge is expected to have a lighter workload this season in his preferred position in right field.

Ahead of 2024, when the Yankees signed Juan Soto for a one-year contract, he automatically slotted in right field, pushing Judge to center, where he played 105 games.

However, he ranked only 39th among 40 qualified center fielders in Outs Above Average. Thus the Yanks are going ahead with former National League MVP, Bellinger, in center.

On the MLB Network, speaking to Chris Young, Cody Bellinger opened up about the importance of communicating with fellow outfielders. He stated that it is necessary to gauge which side the batter will hit and adjust positions accordingly.

"You know, like in center field, you have your 0-0, spot, right and there's a lefty or righty... so between each hitter, where I'm letting as a center fielder know, 'Hey, I moved over this way about five feet'.

"I'm letting him know 'I moved over this way about five feet', just so it falls in the gap. You know, we have an idea of where we're at and always communicating pre at bat."

Bellinger also emphasized communication with the outfielders during games, saying:

"It's the most important thing you do as an outer so when the ball is hit, you can just run to the ball and you know where your other guys are at. You don't want to be like, 'Oh, where's my left fielder, where's my right fielder, and then where's the ball'.

"You want to know where everybody's at, knowing where you are at the field, knowing your teammates, there's so much just knowing where you're at, knowing your teammates, and just communicating all the time."

In 2019, Cody Bellinger won a Gold Glove award for right field but has since divided his time playing center and right. Last season he played 403.2 innings in the middle of the outfield and had 118 defensive putouts from a possible 120 chances.

Aaron Judge makes his feelings known about 'rewriting the script' in 2025

The Yankees came three games away from snapping a 15-year drought of a World Series win when they were beaten by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Aaron Judge opened up about needing to have the same fire back to do better in 2025 and go one step ahead.

He said to Young and Lauren Shehadi of the MLB Network:

"It's still kind of the same thing [heading into the new season]. We got a goal here when we play in New York, it's about winning the championship. We came close last year, we got a chance to go to the dance, didn't finish the job. But, everyone in this room's motivated to get back there and rewrite the script."

Judge would hope that his transition to right field is smooth and a team filled with new stars like Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt can plug the holes from 2024.