Last winter, the Yankees saw Juan Soto leave the club to join the Mets. It was a major blow to the Bombers, who had just reached the World Series with Soto in the lineup.
The goal was clear: find a way replace Soto. And to do that, the club brought in Cody Bellinger (among others) to try and help Judge.
And it is obvious that Bellinger's experiment was a success. He had a great campaign with 29 home runs and 98 RBIs, becoming an important part of the Yankees' offense.
However, Bellinger will be a free agent this winter, so he could leave the club. But according to Jon Heyman, there is one guy who is insistent that the Yankees bring him back: Aaron Judge.
The judge would Love see Bellinger in the Bronx next year.
Aaron Judge is reportedly a "big advocate" for the Yankees re-signing Cody Bellinger https://t.co/J6T8Farwer pic.twitter.com/Z4dNDunJfA
— SNY (@SNYtv) December 26, 2025
Judge was criticized last year for not trying to get Soto to return to the Bronx. This caused quite a stir… and it's clear the captain isn't going to make the same mistake again this year.
Or maybe he's more interested in facing Bellinger again than facing Soto. But that seems unlikely: Recall that Soto changed his phone number, which likely explains why Judge stayed away.
The Yankees still like their chances of bringing Bellinger back in 2026, Heyman said. It feels like this thing is dragging on a bit, but the Yankees are clearly optimistic about reaching an agreement with the outfielder.
It would be a big financial commitment for a team that has seemed reluctant to take on new players in recent years, but if the captain insists on it, it could force the Yankees to act.
This content was created using artificial intelligence.
