Aaron Judge pushes for Yankees to go 'all-in' this offseason after disappointing playoff exit

Judge missed the postseason with a calf injury and is now looking ahead to 2027

Oct 8, 2026 at 9:48 am ET • 2 min read

For the third time in their last three postseason trips, the New York Yankees were eliminated at home Wednesday night. The Yankees dropped Game 3 to the AL East rival Tampa Bay Rays and were swept in the best-of-five ALDS. New York again piled up wins during the regular season, then wilted against equal or better competition in the postseason.

Perhaps the outcome would have been different if reigning two-time AL MVP Aaron Judge had been able to play, or perhaps not. Judge was relegated to spectator during the postseason due a lingering September calf injury. Following the Game 3 loss, Judge implored the team's brain trust to go all-in this offseason, and improve the roster however they can.

"We're the Yankees. I feel like they should go all-in and do what they need to do," Judge said. "And if we got holes, it's finding certain players or personnel, whatever we need, we got to go out there and get it. That's why I signed back here to play with the Yankees, is to fight for a championship every single year and go all-in. That's what I do every offseason is to get ready to give this team and this city everything I got. So I expect them to do the same."

This is a bad offseason to go all-in. The free agent class is very week behind reigning two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, and the Yankees are one of the few teams that can plausibly say it doesn't make sense to prioritize Skubal. On paper, their rotation runs six deep with Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, and Ryan Weathers.

Also, it is a near certainly the owners will lock out the players when the collective bargaining agreement expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1. At that point, the hot stove will freeze, and no transactions will be allowed. And, once the lockout ends, there will be a truncated spring training that won't leave much time for roster moves. It will be a disjointed offseason, for sure.

The Yankees go into the offseason needing upgrades at second base, third base, center field, and in the bullpen. They can fill some of those positions internally (Anthony Volpe at second, Spencer Jones in center, etc.), but, as Judge said, these are the Yankees, and they should strive for something better than good enough.

New York went 93-68 and had the AL's second-best record during the regular season. Their current 17-year World Series drought is tied for the franchise's longest with 1979-95.