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Turning 34 in April, it’s increasingly likely that Aaron Judge will join Don Mattingly as the only New York Yankees captain 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 were bounced in the American League Division Series last season, they return with a nearly identical team.
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Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees reacts after being thrown 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. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
At one point, the Yankees’ offseason looked bleak — or, as Judge puts it, “brutal.”
“I see other teams in the league getting better. They’re making trades, they’re signing big prospects or big players and we’ve been sitting there for a while, making smaller moves,” Judge said.
“At first it was pretty hard to watch. I was like, ‘Man, we’re the New York Yankees, let’s go out there and find the right people, let’s get the right pieces to go out there and finish this thing.’
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees watches from the dugout during the first inning of 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 happy.
“I think once we solidified Bellinger’s return, we had Trent as a center fielder, as a leader for another year. You add a guy like Goldy, some of the bullpen pieces we did, I think we’ll be in a good position…” Judge said.
“We have a special group of players here. We have a good core, good young guys. It was frustrating, but I think we are 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 during the 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 team is doing just fine, as the Yankees look to win their first title since 2009.
