New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge expressed frustration with his team’s slow offseason activity, calling the wait “brutal” as he watched other teams improve. Despite the delayed moves, Judge now says the Yankees are exactly where they need to be after securing key players.
Yankees captain Aaron Judge didn’t hold back when describing his feelings about his team’s sluggish offseason activity, calling the experience “brutal” during his first spring training media session Monday in Tampa.
The three-time American League MVP winner, who claimed the award again this past season, openly shared his frustration with watching other teams make moves while New York remained inactive.
“It was brutal. I’m like, ‘I see a lot of free agents out there,’” Judge said. “I’m like, ‘Let’s sign these guys right now and start adding more pieces,’ because I’ve seen other teams around the league get better.”
“Early on, it was pretty tough to watch. I’m like, ‘Man, we’re the New York Yankees. Let’s go out there and get the right people, get the right pieces to go out there and finish this thing off.’”
When reporters asked if he shared these concerns with team management, Judge smiled and confirmed, “Yeah, oh, yeah.”
The Yankees essentially retained most of their 2025 squad that posted a 94-68 record but lost the American League East division to Toronto in a tiebreaker before falling to the Blue Jays in the divisional round.
After center fielder Trent Grisham accepted his qualifying offer in November, the historically big-spending franchise went silent. The Yankees actually became the sole Major League Baseball team that hadn’t added any new talent at one point during the winter months.
The drought ended when New York acquired left-handed pitcher Ryan Weathers from the Miami Marlins in exchange for four prospects. However, their most significant signings involved retaining familiar faces – outfielder Cody Bellinger secured a five-year contract worth $162.5 million last month, while veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt returned on a one-year deal valued at $4 million.
Those moves satisfied Judge’s expectations.
“We’re right where we need to be,” Judge told reporters. “I love it. I don’t know, people might have their opinions on (running it back) because we didn’t win it all last year and fell short in the Division Series.”
Judge also provided an update on his health, confirming his right elbow has returned to full strength following a flexor strain last summer that never completely healed. Manager Aaron Boone recently announced Judge will participate in four or five of the Yankees’ initial nine Grapefruit League contests as he returns to game-speed throwing.
The team captain admitted feeling “definitely concerned” after the postseason concluded, uncertain whether surgery would be necessary until team physicians cleared his worries.
“They ran all the checks again and did all the tests and they said, ‘You’re good to go,’” Judge said. “And I said, ‘All right, when can we start throwing?’ 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 the year.”