The Yankees may pursue Kyle Tucker in the offseason due to Aaron Judge's injury.
Kyle Tucker-Yankees Rumors Mount After Aaron Judge Injury News originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Yankees are knee-deep in questions over Aaron Judge's future viability as a right fielder after the superstar was announced to have a flexor strain in his right elbow, which he suffered, or exacerbated, during the Yankees' trip to Toronto last week.
Many analysts have pointed to the case of how the Phillies handled Bryce Harper's return from Tommy John surgery, where the team shifted Harper to first base, as an example of how Judge's return could play out.
The Yankees ruled out moving Judge to first base, a sensible notion given the Yankees have Paul Goldschmidt and Ben Rice as viable options at the position.
However, what if Judge needs to become a permanent designated hitter to avoid any damage to his UCL? Sadly, the question remains a realistic possibility, in which case the Yankees will have to get creative in the outfield.
The news on Judge comes a few months before Kyle Tucker is set to hit the open market, likely commanding a contract north of $450 million.
The Yankees did not complete a trade with the Astros last December for Tucker, for two main reasons: 1) they did not want to move Judge to center field, like they did to accommodate Juan Soto, and 2) they balked at the Astros' price of reigning Rookie of the Year Luis Gil and top prospect George Lombard Jr.
Now, Judge may not even be a factor in the outfield, depending on how safely Aaron Boone and the brass want to play it, and the Yankees would have a wide open spot in right field. Of course, then there would be a logjam with Giancarlo Stanton, who raised eyebrows with his willingness to jump back out to the outfield despite his at-times clunky efforts in the past.
If they have an Aaron Judge-sized gap to fill come 2026, do the Yankees go out and make a play for Tucker? They could potentially look to deal Stanton to free up cap space (a long shot) and Trent Grisham could be replaced by Spencer Jones come next March. Judge's injury certainly complicates matters.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Baseball
