Aaron Judge is not the problem for the New York Yankees, the Bronx Bombers cannot continue to disappoint the Judge, who is their captain. But can the Yankees build a title-winning team around Aaron Judge?
Twenty-four hours after hitting one of the most important home runs of his career, with a display of power that very few people on Earth could match, Aaron Judge continued a decade-long October tradition on Wednesday night, October 8, 2025.
October tradition that has been going on for a decade
The New York Yankees have reached the playoffs eight times with Aaron Judge leading the lineup. And eight times a dejected Judge, still with recent disappointment, has had to reflect on a season without a World Series title.
“That’s 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.”
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 nearly two months due to a torn ligament in his right big toe.
Judge’s best year
Individually, from Opening Day to the last out of the postseason, it was Judge’s best year. During the regular season, the reigning AL MVP made a strong case to win the award for the third time by leading the majors with a .331 batting average, 20 points higher than anyone else, and hitting 53 home runs with an OPS of 1.144. He continued with his best performance in the playoffs. Judge went 13-for-26 (.500) with a 1.273 OPS in New York’s seven postseason games. He collected seven RBIs and four walks, and had multiple hits in all but one game.
The year helped cement Judge’s place among the Yankees greats. He surpassed Yogi Berra and Joe DiMaggio on the franchise’s all-time home run list, reaching fourth place. He became the fourth player in history with four seasons of more than 50 home runs. His 53 home runs were the most ever by 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 a postseason with at least 20 at-bats. He did all this while playing with a strained flexor in his right elbow, which landed him on the injured list in late July.
But the World Series
But a World Series title, the most important achievement that all of his Yankees pantheon teammates have achieved, eludes the 6-foot-7 right fielder. “They’ll probably eventually put a statue over there,” Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodon told ESPN. “And I feel like before it’s all said and done, for him, the right thing to do would be to win at least one World Series. I think his legacy would be pretty solidified if he won one here.”
It’s easy to take Judge’s greatness for granted. The reality is that his peak won’t last much longer. Time catches up with everyone, even the most elite athletes, and the pressure is on the Yankees not to waste Judge’s prime.”I’m sure we’ll get there, and I have been every year, and I believe in a lot of the people in that room,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “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.”
Can the Yankees build a title-winning team around Aaron Judge?
Several players will reach free agency the day after the World Series ends. It’s certainly possible to trade other players. The Yankees’ cornerstones will remain in place, but general manager Brian Cashman has major moves to make.
Judge’s own status is not 100% clear. After Wednesday’s loss, Judge did not rule out the possibility of undergoing surgery on his injured elbow. The most drastic option – Tommy John surgery – would rule him out for most, if not all, of next season. The more likely option is that Judge will rehab the elbow without a procedure.
Last winter, after their first World Series appearance in 15 years, the Yankees changed course when Juan Soto signed with the Mets and built a deeper roster that only lasted a week in October.Giving themselves another chance to break the 16-year championship drought begins with the transactions made in the coming months.
This offseason, at least 10 Yankees players are expected to become free agents. Those players collectively accounted for nearly $70 million of the Yankees’ more than $300 million payroll in 2025.
One person who is expected to return is Boone, who 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 roster? The starting rotation: This is a group that does not need significant reinforcement. New York should have one of the best rotations in the majors next season with Gerrit Cole expected to return from Tommy John surgery at some point in the first half. The projection of the five Opening Day starters without him is solid: Max Fried, Rodon, Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil and Will Warren. Clarke Schmidt, who underwent Tommy John surgery in July, could join the group by the end of the season.
The Yankees have some prospects who could move up to the majors at some point in 2026: Carlos Lagrange and Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz headline the list. In addition, they could add one or two veteran pitchers for depth after Fried, Rodon and Warren handled the biggest workloads of their careers and Gil did not look like the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year when he returned from a back injury.
The bullpen: This is another matter. Right-handers Devin Williams, Luke Weaver and Jonathan Loaisiga, whose $5 million team option will be declined, will head to free agency. Left-hander Tim Hill could join them if the Yankees decline his $3 million option. The foundation for a strong bullpen is in place with David Bednar as closer, Camilo Doval in a setup role and Fernando Cruz as an effective reliever, but the group, which struggled during 2025, will look different in 2026. The outfield: Assuming he is ready for the start of the season, Judge will continue to secure right field. Elsewhere, there is uncertainty. …
The outfield: Assuming he is ready for the start of the season, Judge will continue to dominate right field. Elsewhere, there is uncertainty. Cody Bellinger, who became the team’s starting left fielder when he was at his best, 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 an outstanding year.
“Two guys that had incredible years,” Judge said. “It was fun to watch them. Fun to learn from them. And hopefully we can bring them back. We’ll see what happens.”
It is unlikely that the Yankees will pay market value for both players to return. Jasson Dominguez, who missed regular playing time at the end of the season, offers the Yankees a much cheaper option with potential for improvement, but his defense and struggles to hit right-handed against left-handed pitchers were problems in his first full major league season.
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. The infield: Anthony Volpe has not lived up to the expectations he had when he was named the Yankees’ Opening Day shortstop as a rookie in 2023. The former inconsistent prospect has a career OPS of .662 that 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 last.
This year, he improved his hitting power but regressed in almost every other category. He was outplayed in the ALDS, 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 in his left shoulder for most of the season and received at least two cortisone injections to treat the pain. After Wednesday’s loss, Volpe said he did not know if he would undergo surgery in the offseason. Boone and Cashman continued to support him fervently this season; Cashman, in September, said he still sees Volpe as the Yankees’ shortstop of 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 internal option at shortstop. Top prospect George Lombard reached Double-A this season and is not in the plans for 2026.
Veterans Paul Goldschmidt and Amed Rosario are free agents. Goldschmidt, 38, was highly respected in the Yankees clubhouse for his professionalism and presence, but a reunion is unlikely; Ben Rice is expected to become the starting first baseman next season. Rosario, who was effective in his role against left-handed pitchers, provided a spark and seamlessly integrated into the clubhouse after being acquired at the trade deadline. The Yankees could try to re-sign 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 more pressing issue for the Yankees was having three left-handed hitting catchers — Wells, Rice and J.C. Escarra — on the roster for most of the season and in the playoffs. With Rice likely moving to first base, they could bring in a right-handed catcher to alternate with Wells, who was slightly better against lefties in 2025, but significantly better against righties in 2024. Three-time All-Star J.T. Realmuto, a right-handed hitter, will headline the short list of free-agent catchers this winter.
The Yankees will likely field a competitive playoff team in 2026. They have not finished with a sub-.500 record since 1992. They have reached the postseason in 26 of the last 31 years. But success is measured differently in the Bronx. Winning the World Series is harder than ever. The postseason, now with 12 teams, presents too much randomness to expect to uncork champagne after the last game every year. But to dismiss the Yankees’ 16-year title drought, the second-longest in franchise history, simply as a product of bad luck does not match the successes of other teams.
Eight American League teams, including the Yankees, have reached the World Series since 2010. Four have reached the World Series 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 have a 19-6 record against the American League Central, a division with four of the six smallest markets in the league, and 13-27 against the American League East and West in the postseason since Judge’s playoff debut in 2017.
Winning the 28th World Series in the franchise’s history will undoubtedly require facing heavyweights in October. The time to achieve the feat with Judge – and avoid going down in history as the greatest Yankee never to win a title – is coming. Next August will mark the 10th anniversary of his first Major League game. He is under contract until 2031, his 39th season. There are only a few years left in his prime for Judge.
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