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As he turns 34 in April, it’s increasingly likely that Aaron Judge could join Don Mattingly as the only New York Yankees captains without a World Series ring in the modern era.
Judge is coming off his third MVP season in the last four years, but remains without what really matters in the Yankees universe: a title.
Well, after Judge’s Yankees got swept in the American League Division Series last season, they’re running back with an almost identical team.
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Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees reacts after striking out during the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 4 of the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium on October 8, 2025 in New York City. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
At one point, the Yankees’ offseason looked bleak — or as Judge put it, “brutal.”
“I see other teams around the league getting better. They’re making trades, they’re signing big prospects or big players, and we sat there for a while, like we made smaller moves,” Judge said.
“Early on, it was pretty hard 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.’
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees looks on from the dugout during the first inning during Game 3 of the American League Wild Card Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, October 2, 2025, in New York, New York. (Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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But after the Yankees re-signed Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham and Paul Goldschmidt, Judge was satisfied.
“I think once we got Bellinger back, we got Trent to be our center fielder, and be our leadoff guy for another year. You add a guy like Goldy, some of the back-end bullpen pieces we’ve done, I think we’ll be in a good place…” Judge said.
“We have a special group of players here. We have a good core, a good young corps. It was frustrating, but I think we are right where we need to be.”
The Yankees finished with 94 wins and tied for the best record in the American League, but lost the tiebreaker to the Toronto Blue Jays, who overpowered them in the ALDS.
Cody Bellinger, Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt of the New York Yankees game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on September 30, 2025 in New York, New York. (New York Yankees/Getty Images)
But the talk in the clubhouse seems to be that they think the squad is just fine as the Yankees look to win their first title since 2009.
