Aaron Judge and the Yankees: A Yearning for Glory in the Shadow of Greatness
New York – Barely 24 hours after hitting one of the most significant home runs of his career, Aaron Judge, demonstrating a strength that few can match, faces a decade of tradition in October. With Judge leading the offense, the Yankees have reached the postseason eight times. In each of them, Judge has experienced the disappointment of a season without the World Series title.Individually, 2025 was Judge’s best year. During the regular season, the current American League MVP competed to win the award for the third time, leading Major League Baseball with a batting average of .331, 20 points above any other player, and hitting 53 home runs with an OPS of 1.144. His performance in the playoffs was equally outstanding, with a .500 average (13 of 26) and an OPS of 1.273 in the seven postseason games. In addition, he accumulated seven RBIs and four walks, with multiple hits in almost every game. This year, Judge solidified his place among Yankees legends, surpassing Yogi Berra and Joe DiMaggio on the team’s home run list, ranking fourth. He became the fourth player with four seasons of 50+ home runs, and his 53 home runs were the most for a batting champion. He set an American League record with 36 intentional walks. This month, he became the sixth player to bat .500 or higher in a postseason with at least 20 at-bats, all while playing with a right elbow injury that landed him on the injured list at the end of July. However, the World Series title, the supreme achievement that all his predecessors in the Yankees pantheon achieved, continues to elude the 6-foot-7-inch right fielder.“That’s what you play for. You play to win. And when you don’t win, it’s not a good year,” Judge declared after the team’s loss in Game 4 of the American League Division Series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Aaron Judge
It’s easy to take Judge’s greatness for granted, but his best moment won’t last forever. Time catches up with everyone, even the most outstanding athletes, and the pressure is on the Yankees not to waste Judge’s prime.“They’ll probably make him a statue eventually,” said Carlos Rodón, Yankees left-handed pitcher. “And I feel like before it’s all over, for him, it would be fair to win at least one World Series here. I think his legacy would be well established if he won one here.”
Carlos Rodón
On April 26, a Sunday, Judge will turn 34 years old. The Yankees are scheduled to complete a three-game series against the Astros in Houston that day. The team’s situation is uncertain, with several players reaching free agency after the World Series. The Yankees’ mainstays will remain, but general manager Brian Cashman has important decisions to make. Judge’s status is not entirely clear. After the defeat, he did not rule out the possibility of undergoing surgery on his injured elbow. The most drastic option, Tommy John surgery, could sideline him for most, if not all, of next season. The most likely option is that Judge will undergo rehabilitation without the need for surgery. The Yankees have reached the postseason in eight of Judge’s nine full seasons in the majors. The only exception was 2023, when Judge was out of action for almost two months due to a torn ligament in his right big toe. Last winter, after their first World Series appearance in 15 years, the Yankees restructured their roster after signing Juan Soto with the Mets, building a deeper team, which only lasted a week in October. Taking another shot at breaking a 16-year championship drought begins with the transactions that will take place in the coming months. The Yankees are expected to have at least 10 players reaching free agency this offseason. Those players combined accounted for nearly $70 million of the Yankees’ over $300 million payroll in 2025. A person who is expected to return is Boone. The manager signed a two-year contract extension through the 2027 season in February. “I have a contract, so I don’t expect anything,” Boone said. What can we expect from the rest of the template?Opening rotation: This is a group that does not need a significant addition. New York should have one of the best rotations in the majors next season, with Gerrit Cole scheduled to return from Tommy John surgery sometime in the first half. The projected Opening Day starting five without him is solid: Max Fried, Rodón, Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil, and Will Warren. Clarke Schmidt, who underwent Tommy John surgery in July, could join the group at the end of the season. The Yankees have some prospects who could reach the majors sometime in 2026, with Carlos Lagrange and Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz leading the way, and they could add one or two veteran starters to provide depth after Fried, Rodón, and Warren handled the heaviest workloads of their careers and Gil didn’t look like the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year upon returning from a lat injury.The bullpen: This is another question. Right-handers Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, and Jonathan Loáisiga, whose $5 million team option will be declined, are heading to free agency. Lefty Tim Hill could join them if the Yankees decline his $3 million club option. The foundation for a strong bullpen is in place with David Bednar as the closer, Camilo Doval in a setup role, and Fernando Cruz as an effective fireman, but the group, which struggled throughout 2025, will look different in 2026.Gardens: Assuming he’s ready for the start of the season, Judge will continue to secure right field. Elsewhere, there is uncertainty. Cody Bellinger, who became the team’s starting left fielder at full capacity, will opt out of his contract, a source confirmed, after an impressive season in the Bronx, and center fielder Trent Grisham will become a free agent for the first time after a record year.“I trust that we will achieve it, and I have been every year, and I believe in many people in that room,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “That hasn’t changed. The fire hasn’t changed. It’s hard to win the World Series. I’ve been chasing it my whole life.”
Aaron Boone
It’s unlikely the Yankees will pay market value for both players to return. Jasson Domínguez, who missed regular playing time down the stretch, gives the Yankees a much less expensive option with potential for improvement, but his defense and struggles hitting right-handed against left-handed pitchers were issues in his first full season in the Major Leagues. Prospect Spencer Jones, who hit 35 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A, is another internal option that could be added to the mix.“Two guys who had incredible years,” Judge said. “It was fun to watch them. Fun to learn from them. And I hope we can repeat them. We’ll see what happens.”
Aaron Judge
Inside the Box: Anthony Volpe hasn’t lived up to the expectations he had when he was named the Yankees’ starting shortstop on Opening Day as a rookie in 2023. The former prospect, who has had streaks, has a career OPS of .662, which ranks him 102nd out of 103 players with at least 1,500 plate appearances since then. His .222 batting average and .283 on-base percentage are the lowest.
This year, he improved his slugging, but regressed in almost every other category. He was overmatched in the American League Division Series, going 1-for-15 with 11 strikeouts in the four games. His defense also declined: Two years after winning a Gold Glove, Volpe ranked 11th in defensive runs saved and 17th in outs above average among MLB shortstops this season. However, Volpe, 24, played with a small tear in the labrum of his left shoulder for most of the season and received at least two cortisone injections to treat the pain. After the defeat, Volpe said he didn’t know if he would undergo off-season surgery. Boone and Cashman continued to firmly back him this season, Cashman said in September that he still sees Volpe as the Yankees’ shortstop of the future, but he lost playing time to Jose Caballero when he struggled in September. Gentleman, acquired at the trade deadline, is the other internal option for the Yankees at shortstop. Top prospect George Lombard reached Double-A this season and is not part of the equation for 2026. Veterans Paul Goldschmidt and Amed Rosario are free agents. Goldschmidt, 38, was revered in the Yankees’ clubhouse for his professionalism and presence, but a reunion is unlikely; Ben Rice looks set to become the starting first baseman next season. Rosario, who was effective in his role against left-handed pitching, provided spark and fit perfectly in the clubhouse after being acquired at the trade deadline. The Yankees could look to re-sign him to play third base and second base against lefties.Catcher: Like Volpe, Austin Wells regressed in 2025, his second full season, but the Yankees’ most pressing issue was having three left-handed catchers, Wells, Rice and J.C. Escarra, on the roster for most of the season and into the postseason. With Rice likely moving to first base, they could bring in a right-handed hitter to play with Wells, who was slightly better against lefties in 2025, but significantly better against righties in 2024. J.T. Realmuto, a three-time All-Star, a right-handed hitter, will top the short list of free agent catchers this winter.
Eight American League teams, including the Yankees, have reached the World Series since 2010. Four have gone that far multiple times: The Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals twice, the Texas Rangers three times, and the Houston Astros four times. Four American League teams have won at least one World Series: The Red Sox (twice), the Royals, the Astros (twice), and the Rangers.
The Yankees are 19-6 against the American League Central, a division with four of the six smallest markets in the American League, and 13-27 against the American League East and American League West in the postseason since Judge’s playoff debut in 2017. Winning the 28th World Series in the franchise’s history will undoubtedly require handling heavyweights in October. The moment to achieve the feat with Judge, and prevent him from going down in history as the greatest Yankee who never won a title, is running out. Next August will mark the tenth anniversary of his first game in the Major Leagues. He has a contract until 2031, the season in which he turns 39 years old. There are only a few years left of Judge in his prime.“Every year is different depending on how it goes,” Judge said. “But I think the feeling is still the same if you didn’t win.”
Aaron Judge
