Aaron Judge gets honest about initial frustration with Yankees' lack of additions

"It was brutal," Judge said, per SNY. "I see a lot of free agents out there. I see a lot of guys like the Bellingers, the Grishams, the Goldschmidts. Let's sign these guys right now and then start adding more pieces. I'm seeing other teams around the league get better. They're making trades, they're signing big prospects or big players and we kind of were sitting there for a while, kind of making smaller moves.It was tough there in the beginning, but I think once we solidified getting Bellinger back, we got Trent being our center fielder, being our leadoff guy for another year.

"You add a guy like Goldy, some of the back-end bullpen pieces that we've been doing, I think we'll be in a good spot. But early on, it was pretty tough 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.' We've got a special group of players here. We've got a good core, good young core. It was frustrating, but I think we're right where we need to be."

The Yankees did acquire left-hander Ryan Weathers from the Miami Marlins. He has the upside of being a top-of-the-rotation starter arm. 

Yankees' lack of additions in the offseason could come back to haunt them 

Next to Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani, Judge is considered the face of Major League Baseball, as he's won back-to-back AL MVP awards (2024 and 2025). Even though Judge has mostly had the same level of success as Ohtani, he has not won a World Series, losing to Ohtani and the Dodgers in 2024.

Four years into a nine-year, $360M contract, Judge's chances to win one World Series while he’s still in his prime are fleeting, as he’ll turn 34 in April. Since the Yankees didn't utilize free agency well, general manager Brian Cashman will need to use the trade deadline to continue improving the roster, which could prove costly. The Yankees would possibly need to be willing to trade outfielder George Lombard Jr. (MLB No. 32 prospect) to get the player they want. 

The Yankees are relying heavily on veteran players to help lead them to the promised land. Not adding more depth or injecting youth into the roster may hurt their chances at winning it all, as injuries are always lurking.