Yankees owner consulting Aaron Judge on team issues

It's clear that All-Star slugger Aaron Judge is more than just the captain of the New York Yankees in name only.

ESPN's Buster Olney reported Wednesday that Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner has consulted with Judge "about various team-related issues," including what should be done this spring about exciting shortstop prospect Anthony Volpe. 

As noted by Bob Klapisch of NJ Advance Media, Judge said last week that Volpe deserves the starting job over the likes of Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Oswald Peraza if the 21-year-old proves to be "the best player" at the position by Opening Day. 

"I've heard from other players, including Aaron Judge, that [Volpe] conducts himself in a very professional way for somebody his age," Steinbrenner explained, "and that's good, because he's going to need all of that to play where we play."

Judge set an American League single-season record of 62 home runs and earned Most Valuable Player honors for the 2022 campaign before he gave Steinbrenner and company a scare in free agency. In the end, the four-time All-Star returned to the Yankees via a nine-year, $360 million contract and the opportunity to serve as the 16th captain in the club's history. 

"Judge and I have a good relationship," Steinbrenner added. "I asked him about a lot of things. We're getting ready to look at some renovations of [the spring training] stadium, he's involved with that. Yes, I ask him about different players."

Former Yankees captain Ron Guidry noted earlier this winter that Judge may need to approach Steinbrenner about matters such as food served on team flights. That was well before it was reported Wednesday that the Yankees are one of just two MLB teams that don't cover in-flight Wi-Fi expenses for players. 

Steinbrenner may need to remedy the Wi-Fi situation sooner rather than later but understandably had other things on his mind.

"For me, it's always exciting, particularly when it's someone's first spring training, like Volpe, that they perform and that they perform well, and that they impress guys like Judge, which is what they're doing," Steinbrenner remarked. 

Per a different ESPN piece, Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed that Kiner-Falefa will see some playing time in center field this week as the club looks to fill a gap created by the injury to Harrison Bader. That, presumably, could make Volpe the favorite to win the starting shortstop gig.