New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge readily admitted that it was \u201cbrutal\u201d to wait on his team to make some transactions this offseason.<\/p>\n
The three-time and reigning American League Most Valuable Player had his first media availability of spring training Monday in \u200bTampa.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was brutal. I\u2019m like, \u2018I see a lot of free agents out there,’\u201d \u200cJudge said. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Let\u2019s sign these guys right now and start adding more pieces,\u2019 because I\u2019ve seen other teams around the league get better.<\/p>\n
\u201cEarly on, it was pretty tough to watch. I\u2019m like, \u2018Man, we\u2019re the New York Yankees. Let\u2019s go out there and get the right people, get the right pieces to go out there and \u200cfinish this \u200bthing off.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Judge was asked whether he expressed his view to \u2060the team, and he grinned \u2060and said, \u201cYeah, oh, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the end, New York mostly brought back the same roster from 2025 that finished 94-68, lost the AL East title to the Toronto Blue Jays in a tiebreaker and then fell to Toronto in the AL Division Series.<\/p>\n
Center fielder Trent Grisham \u200baccepted a qualifying offer last November, after which it was all quiet for a franchise known as one of the major leagues\u2019 biggest spenders. At one point in the winter, \u2060the Yankees were the only team in baseball that \u2060had not yet added a new player.<\/p>\n
That changed when the Yankees traded \u200bfour prospects for Miami Marlins left-handed pitcher Ryan Weathers. But the biggest names they signed were brought \u200bback from the 2025 roster \u2014 outfielder Cody Bellinger landed a five-year, $162.5 million deal \u200clast month and veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt came back on a one-year, $4 million pact.<\/p>\n
That was enough for Judge.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re right where we need to be,\u201d Judge told reporters. \u201cI love it. I don\u2019t know, people might have their opinions on (running it back) because we didn\u2019t win it all last \u2060year and fell short in the Division Series.\u201d<\/p>\n
Judge also said his right elbow is at full strength after his flexor strain last summer did not fully heal. Manager Aaron Boone recently said Judge \u2060would play in four or \u200cfive of the Yankees\u2019 first nine Grapefruit League games as he \u2060gets back to throwing at game speed.<\/p>\n
Judge said he was \u201cdefinitely concerned\u201d after \u200bthe \u200cpostseason ended and didn\u2019t know whether he\u2019d need surgery until the \u200bteam doctors assuaged \u2060his concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey ran all the checks again and did all the tests and they said, \u2018You\u2019re good to go,’\u201d Judge said. \u201cAnd I said, \u2018All right, when can we start throwing?\u2019 So it was good. It was great. It was great to hear those words so that now I can go into the offseason and just prepare the way I need to be in the best shape to start \u200bthe year.\u201d<\/p>\n
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