NEW YORK – Twenty-four hours after launch one of the most important home runs of his careerwith such a display of strength that only a few people on Earth are capable of, Aaron Judge Wednesday night continued an October tradition that has been going on for a decade. Eight times New York Yankees made it to the postseason with Judge on the roster. And eight times, the crestfallen umpire, still simmering with disappointment, had to reflect on a season without a World Series title.
“This is what you play for,” Judge said after Yankees loss in Game 4 To Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Division Series. “You play to win. And if you don’t win, it’s not a good year.”
Individually, from Opening Day to the final playoff game, 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, leading the major leagues with a .331 batting average—20 points better than anyone else—and hitting 53 home runs with a 1.144 OPS. After that, he showed his best result in the playoffs. Judge is 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 every game but one.
This year helped cement Judge's place among the Yankees' greats. He passed Yogi Berra and Joe DiMaggio on the franchise's all-time home run list for fourth place. He became the fourth player ever to hit home runs in four seasons with more than 50 home runs. His 53 home runs were the most in the history of 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 all of this while playing because of a right elbow flexor sprain that forced him to be placed on the injured list in late July.
But the World Series title, the crowning achievement achieved by all his peers in the Yankee pantheon, eludes the 6-foot-7 right fielder.
“They'll probably get a statue of him eventually,” Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodon told ESPN. “And I feel like before this is all over, it's only right for him to win at least one World Series. I think his legacy would be set in stone if he won one here.”
It's easy to take Judge's greatness for granted. The reality is that his peak will not last long. 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 confident we'll break through, and I've been every year, and I have faith in a lot of people in this room,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “That hasn't changed. The fire has not changed. It's hard to win the World Series. I've been chasing this my whole life.”
APRIL 26Judge will turn 34 on Sunday. The Yankees plan to complete a three-game series against the Astros in Houston that day. One can only guess what they will look like. Several players will become free agents the day after the World Series ends. Trading other players is certainly possible. The Yankees' cornerstones will remain in place, but general manager Brian Cashman has big moves to make.
The status of the judge is not 100% clear. After Wednesday's defeat, Judge did not rule out the possibility of surgery on the injured elbow. The most drastic option, Tommy John surgery, would knock him out for most, if not all, of next season. The more likely outcome is that Judge will repair his elbow without a procedure.
The Yankees made the postseason in eight of Judge's nine full seasons in the majors. The only setback came in 2023, when Judge was sidelined for nearly two months with a torn big toe ligament. 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 that lasted only a week in October.
Giving yourself another chance to break a 16-year championship drought will start with transactions made in the coming months. The Yankees are expected to have at least 10 players hit free agency this offseason. Collectively, these players earned nearly $70 million of the Yankees' more than $300 million 2025 salary.
One person expected to return: Boone. In February, the manager signed a two-year contract extension until the 2027 season.
“I’m under contract, so I don’t expect anything,” Boone said.
What can we expect from the rest of the cast?
Starting Rotation: This is a group that does not need significant additions.
New York should boast one of the best rotations in the majors next season. Gerrit Cole scheduled to return from Tommy John surgery sometime in the first half. The predicted opening day, starting without him, will be strong: Max FriedRodon, Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil And Will Warren. Clark Schmidtwho had Tommy John surgery in July, could join the group by the end of the season.
The Yankees have several prospects who could make it 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 for depth after Fried, Rodon and Warren handled the heaviest workloads of their careers and Gil no longer looked like the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year after returning from a lat injury.
BULLPEN: That's a different matter. Right-handed Devin Williams, Luke Weaver And Jonathan Kaoisigawhose $5 million team option is declined will enter free agency. Lefty Tim Hill could join them if the Yankees decline his $3 million club option. The foundation for a strong bullpen has been laid with David Bednar closer, Camilo Doval as a setting and Fernando Cruz as an effective firefighter, but the group that struggled throughout 2025 will look different in 2026.
Far field: Assuming he's ready to start the season, Judge will continue to lock down right field. The rest is uncertain. Cody Bellingerwho 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 the center fielder Trent Grisham will be a free agent for the first time after a career year.
“Two guys who had incredible years,” Judge said. “It was fun watching them. It's interesting to learn from them. And hopefully we can bring them back. Let's see what happens.”
The Yankees paying market value to bring both players back is a long shot. Jasson Dominguezwho lost regular playing time during that stretch gives the Yankees a much less expensive option with potential for improvement, but his defense and struggles with right-handed hitting 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 inside player to add to this list.
Garden plot: Anthony Volpe hasn't lived up to the expectations he had for himself when he was named the Yankees' starting shortstop as a rookie in 2023. The former prospect has a career OPS of .662, ranking him 102nd out of 103 players who have played at least 1,500 games since then. His .222 batting average and on-base percentage rank last.
This year he has improved his hitting skills, but worsened in almost every other category. In the ALDS, he went 1-for-15 with 11 strikeouts in four games. His defense has also declined: two years after winning the Gold Glove, Volpe ranked 11th in defensive runs saved and 17th in strikeouts above average among MLB shortstops that season.
However, Volpe, 24, played most of the season with a small labrum tear in his left shoulder and received at least two cortisone injections to relieve the pain. After Wednesday's loss, Volpe said he didn't know if he would have surgery this offseason.
Boone and Cashman continued to strongly support him this season—Cashman said in September that he still considered Volpe to be a future contender for the Yankees—but he lost playing time due to Jose Caballero when he fought in September.
Acquired at the trade deadline, Caballero is the Yankees' other internal option at shortstop. Top prospect George Lombard reached Double A this season and is not part of the 2026 equation.
Veterans Paul Goldschmidt And Amed Rosario are free agents. Goldschmidt, 38, was respected in the Yankees' clubhouse for his professionalism and presence, but a reunion is unlikely; Ben Rice numbers to become an everyday first baseman next season. Rosario, who handled his role effectively against left-handed pitching, provided a spark and fit seamlessly into the clubhouse after being acquired at the trade deadline. The Yankees could try to re-sign him to play third and second base against lefties.
Catcher: Like Volpe, Austin Wells regressed in 2025, his second full season, but the Yankees' bigger problem was having three left-handed catchers – Wells, Rice and JC Escarra – in the lineup for most of the season and in the postseason. Given Rice's likely move to first base, they could platoon a righty with Wells, who was slightly better against lefties in 2025 but significantly better against righties in 2024. Three-time All-Star. JT Realmutoright-handed hitter will top the short list of free agent catchers this winter.
THERE IS A CHANCE The Yankees will field a playoff contender in 2026. They haven't finished below .500 since 1992. They have made the postseason in 26 of the last 31 years.
But in the Bronx, success is measured differently. Winning the World Series is harder than ever. The postseason, which now has 12 participants, is too random to expect champagne after the final game every year. But dismissing the Yankees' 16-year title drought—the second-longest in franchise history—as simply the result of bad luck doesn't square with the successes of other teams.
Eight AL teams, including the Yankees, have reached the World Series since 2010. Four went this far several times: Boston Red Sox And Kansas City Royals twice, Texas Rangers three times and Houston Astros four times. Four AL teams have won at least one World Series: the Red Sox (twice), Royals, Astros (twice) and Rangers.
The Yankees are 19-6 against the AL Central, a division with four of the six smallest markets in the AL, and 13-27 against the AL East and AL West in the postseason since Judge made his playoff debut in 2017.
Winning the 28th World Series in franchise history will undoubtedly require battling heavyweights in October. It's time to accomplish the feat with Judge and prevent him from becoming the greatest Yankee to never win a title. Next August will mark the 10th anniversary of his first major league game. His contract runs until 2031, the season in which he turned 39 years old. There aren't many years of premiership left.
“Every year is different depending on how it goes,” Judge said. “But I think the feeling is still the same even if you don’t win.”
