Throughout the New York Yankees’ offseason, one piece of criticism has arisen over and over again for fans. The team just didn’t make enough trades and free agent signings, at least if you look at the sentiment on social media. Captain Aaron Judge tended to agree, at least initially.
“Early on, it was pretty tough to watch,” Judge said during Spring Training media availability. “I’m like, ‘Man, we’re the New York Yankees. Let’s go out there and get the right people, the right pieces to go out there and finish this thing off.’”
Aaron Judge was asked what the offseason was like for him waiting to see what the Yankees’ front office was going to do and waiting to see if Cody Bellinger would come back:
“It was brutal. I see a lot of free agents out there. I see a lot of guys like the Bellingers, the… pic.twitter.com/4FuJKAX2x0
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) February 16, 2026
Judge even said he struggled to watch other teams make big moves knowing the Yankees weren’t quite there with the ones they wanted to get done.
“I’m seeing other teams around the league get better,” he said. “They’re making trades, they’re signing big prospects or big players and we kind of were sitting there for a while, kind of making smaller moves.”
Aaron Judge Happy With Yankees Offseason Moves
Fortunately for both Judge and fans, the Yankees did end up making an offseason splash when they re-signed Cody Bellinger to a five-year, $162.5 million contract. Bellinger will join Judge in the outfield along with Trent Grisham, who made the first move of the Pinstripes offseason when he accepted a $22 million qualifying offer for 2026.
Most recently, the Yankees brought back Paul Goldschmidt on a $4 million one-year deal. The 38-year old Goldschmidt will take on more of a platoon role as Ben Rice gets the starting first baseman job. Those moves were plenty enough for Judge to get excited about where the Yankees can go in 2026.
“We were kind of sitting there for a while making smaller moves,” Judge continued. “It was tough there in the beginning, but I think once we solidified getting Bellinger back, we got Trent being our center fielder, being our leadoff guy for another year. You add a guy like Goldy, some of the back-end bullpen pieces that we’ve been doing, I think we’ll be in a good spot.”
In addition to Bellinger and Grisham, New York’s other most notable acquisition thus far comes from the Miami Marlins. The Yankees sent four prospects to the Sunshine State in exchange for starting pitcher Ryan Weathers, who is settling in to his first Spring Training in Pinstripes.
While some have accused the Yankees of wanting to “run it back” be re-signing much of their 2025 roster, Judge doesn’t see it that way.
“I love it,” he said. “People might have their opinions on it, because we didn’t win it all last year. We fell short in the division series, but we get a chance to bring a lot of those guys back that are impact players.”