Can the Yankees build a title-winning team around Aaron Judge?
NEW YORK – Twenty-four hours after its release One of the most important home runs of his careerwith the kind of show of strength that very few people on Earth can muster, Aaron Judge on Wednesday night continued a decade-long October tradition. Eight times the New York Yankees reached the postseason where Judge ran the lineup. And eight times, the depressed Judge, with disappointment still lingering, had to contemplate a season without a World Series title.
“This is what you play for,” Judge said after the Yankees’ Game 4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Division Series. “You play to win. And when you don’t win, it’s not a good year.”
Individually, from opening day to the end of the final season, this was Judge’s best year. During the regular season, the reigning AL MVP made a strong case to win the award for a third time by leading the major leagues with a .331 batting average — 20 points better than everyone else — and hitting 53 home runs for a 1.144 OPS. He followed it up with his best playoff showing. Judge went 13-for-26 (.500) with a 1.273 OPS in New York’s seven postseason games. He collected seven RBIs, four walks and multiple hits in every game but one.
The year helped cement Judge’s place among the Yankees greats. He passes Yogi Berra and Joe DiMaggio on the franchise’s all-time home run list to fourth place. He became the fourth player ever with more than 50 home run seasons. His 53 home runs were the most ever for a batting champion. He set the AL record for intentional walks with 36. This month, he became the sixth player to hit .500 or better in the postseason with at least 20 at-bats. He did it all while playing with a right elbow muscle strain that led to him being placed on the injured list in late July.
But a World Series title, the crowning achievement of all his peers in the Yankees pantheon, eludes the 6-foot-7 right-hander.
“They’ll probably have a statue of him eventually,” Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodon told ESPN. “And I feel like before it’s over, for him, it would be appropriate for him to win at least one world championship. I think his legacy will be cemented if he wins a championship here.”
It is easy to take the greatness of a judge for granted. The truth is that its peak will not last much longer. Time catches up with everyone, even elite athletes, and the pressure is on the Yankees not to waste Judge’s prime.
“I’m confident we’re going to make progress, and I’ve been every year, and I’m confident in a lot of people in that room,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “That hasn’t changed. The fire hasn’t changed. It’s hard to win a world championship. I’ve been chasing it my whole life.”
On April 26thOn Sunday, the judge will turn 34 years old. The Yankees are scheduled to complete a three-game series against the Astros in Houston that day. What it will look like is anyone’s guess. Many players will hit free agency the day after the World Series ends. Trading other players is certainly possible. The Yankees’ mainstays will remain in place, but general manager Brian Cashman has important moves to make.
The judge’s status is not 100% clear. After Wednesday’s loss, Judge did not rule out the possibility of him undergoing surgery on his injured elbow. The more drastic option — Tommy John surgery — would rule him out for most, if not all, of next season. The most likely option is for the judge to rehabilitate the facility without action.
The Yankees reached the postseason in eight of Judge’s nine full seasons in the majors. The only absence was in 2023, when Judge was sidelined for nearly two months with a torn ligament in his right big toe. Giving themselves another chance to snap a 16-year championship drought starts with the transactions taking place in the coming months.
Last winter, after their first World Series appearance in 15 years, the Yankees changed when Juan Soto signed with the Mets and built a deeper roster — a roster that lasted just one week in October. This offseason, the Yankees are expected to have at least 10 players join free agency. These players combined to make nearly $70 million of the Yankees’ $300 million-plus payroll in 2025.
One person expected to return: Boone. The manager signed a two-year contract extension through the 2027 season in February.
“I’m under contract, so I don’t expect anything,” Boone said.
What can we expect from the rest of the list?
Starting rotation: This is one set that doesn’t need a large addition.
New York should boast one of the best rotations in the major leagues next season with Gerrit Cole returning from Tommy John surgery sometime during the first half. Projected Opening Day starting five without Strong: Max Fried, Rodon, Cam Schlittler, Lewis Gil and Will Warren. Clark Schmidt, who underwent Tommy John surgery in July, could join the group at the end of the season.
The Yankees have a few prospects who could step up to the majors at some point in 2026 — Carlos LaGrange and Elmer Rodriguez Cruz top the list — and they could add a veteran starter or two to the depth after Fried, Rodon and Warren handled the biggest workloads of their careers and the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year didn’t look like when he returned from an injury. Back.
bull barn: The pen is another matter. Right-handers Devin Williams, Luke Weaver and Jonathan Loisiga, whose $5 million team option will be declined, are headed to free agency. Left-hander Tim Hill could join them if the Yankees decline his $3 million club option. The foundation has been laid for a strong position with David Bednar in a closer role, Camilo Duval in a setup role, and Fernando Cruz as an effective firefighter, but the group, which struggled throughout 2025, will look different in 2026.
Stadium: Assuming he is ready for the start of the season, Judge will continue to secure right field. Elsewhere, there is uncertainty. Cody Bellinger, who has become the team’s everyday left fielder at full strength, will opt out of his contract, a source confirmed to ESPN, after an impressive season in the Bronx, and center fielder Trent Grisham will become a free agent for the first time after a career year.
“Two men who had amazing years,” the judge said. “It was fun to watch them. It’s fun to learn from them. Hopefully we can bring them back. We’ll see what happens.”
The market value the Yankees would pay for the return of both players is a stretch. Jason Dominguez, missing regular playing time, gives the Yankees a much less expensive option with potential for improvement, but his defense and struggles hitting right-handed pitchers have been issues in his first full major league season. Prospect Spencer Jones, who hit 35 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A, is another infield option that could be added to the mix.
Stadium: Anthony Volpe has not come close to the expectations he had when he was optioned on Opening Day by the Yankees to start at shortstop as a starter in 2023. The former breakout prospect has a .662 career OPS that ranks 102nd out of 103 players with at least 1,500 plate appearances since then. His .222 batting average and .283 on-base percentage ranked last.
This year, he improved his sluggish performance, but fell behind in almost every other category. He was overpowered in the ALDS, going 1-for-15 with 11 strikeouts in the four games. His defense has declined as well: Two years after winning the Gold Glove, Volpe ranked 11th in defensive runs saved and 17th in strikeouts above average among MLB shortstops this season.
However, Volpe, 24, played with a small tear in his left shoulder most of the season and received at least two cortisone injections to treat the pain. After Wednesday’s loss, Volpe said he didn’t know if he would have offseason surgery.
Boone and Cashman continued to back him aggressively this season — Cashman said in September that he still viewed Volpe as the Yankees’ shortstop for the future — but he lost playing time to Jose Caballero when he struggled in September.
Caballero, acquired at the trade deadline, is the Yankees’ other in-house option at shortstop. Prospect George Lombard reached the dual division this season, and he’s not part of the equation for 2026.
Veterans Paul Goldschmidt and Amed Rosario are free agents. The 38-year-old Goldschmidt was respected in the Yankees clubhouse for his professionalism and presence, but a reunion is unlikely. Ben Rice is expected to become the first baseman next season. Rosario, who was effective in her role against left-handed pitching, brought a spark and fit seamlessly with the club after being acquired at the trade deadline. The Yankees could pursue re-signing him to play third base and second base against lefties.
Catcher: Like Volpe, Austin Wells took a step back in 2025, his second full season, but the Yankees’ most pressing problem was having three left-handers — Wells, Rice and J.C. Escarra — on the roster for most of the season and into the postseason. With Rice potentially moving to first base, they could bring a right-hander into the platoon with Wells, who was slightly better against lefties in 2025 but noticeably better against righties in 2024. Three-time All-Star JT Realmuto, a right-handed hitter, will top the short list of free agent catchers this winter.
Chances are The Yankees will field a playoff contender in 2026. They haven’t finished below .500 since 1992. They’ve reached the postseason in 26 of the past 31 years.
But success is measured differently in the Bronx. Winning a World Championship is harder than ever. The post-season – which now has 12 participants – features too much randomness to expect to drink champagne after the final game every year. But dismissing the Yankees’ 16-year drought — the third-longest in franchise history — as merely the product of bad luck doesn’t square with other teams’ successes.
Eight AL teams, including the Yankees, have reached the World Series since 2010. Four of them 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 AL 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 AL Central, a division that includes four of the AL’s six smallest markets, and 13-27 against the AL East and AL West in the postseason since Judge’s debut in 2017.
Winning the 28th world championship in franchise history will undoubtedly require dealing with a heavyweight in October. The time to accomplish this feat with Judge — and avoid being labeled as the greatest Yankee to never win a title — is now. Next August will mark the 10th anniversary of his first major league game. He is under contract until 2031, the season in which he turns 39. There are only so many years of lead judge left.
“Every year is different just based on how things go,” Judge said. “But I think it still feels the same if you don’t win.”