


TAMPA — One of the biggest challenges Aaron Boone has faced in recent years is figuring out the right combination of days off, days at DH and days in the outfield to keep Giancarlo Stanton healthy and productive.
“It’s a work in progress,” Stanton said Tuesday.
This season could present another tweak to the equation, with the Yankees at least considering playing Stanton in right field at Yankee Stadium on occasion, which would bump Aaron Judge to left field with Harrison Bader in center, as The Post’s Joel Sherman first reported on Monday.
In order for that to remain on the table, though, Stanton would have to stay healthy.
“I am of the belief that him playing in the outfield is good for his game, but I also think it’s good for his health,” Boone said. “I think it’s good that he’s, when healthy, not just a DH. There’s times in the course of the year when that’s what we have to do. He’s not able to necessarily get out there, so we do what we have to do. … [But] playing in the field, when healthy, gives him a better shot at staying healthy.”
Stanton has played 64 games in the outfield over the past two seasons, including 38 last year. But he went on the injured list in May with a right calf strain then again in July with left Achilles tendinitis.
After coming back from the second IL stint on Aug. 25, Stanton did not play another game in the outfield until starting in left field in Game 1 of the ALCS at Houston’s Minute Maid Park.
“I think I have more of a flow when I’m in the outfield,” Stanton said. “Being in the outfield, you’re kind of more engaged in the game whereas DH you’re inside a lot of the time, staying warm and hitting and watching the game on TV.”
As for potentially playing left field for the first time in his MLB career — the position is more spacious at Yankee Stadium, which is why the team is hesitant to put Stanton there — Judge said he was open to it if it meant getting Stanton some time in right.
“We will get some reps in spring training and get comfortable,” Judge said.