Aaron Judge validates Yankees fans in powerful way with candid comments on offseason

New York Yankees fans knew they weren't alone; they just needed a leader to step up and speak out. And that's exactly what Aaron Judge did at spring training this week when asked about the team's offseason that dragged on like molasses.

Though Judge said he "loved" the moves that were made and is pleased almost all of the main fixtures from last year's roster are back, he did express impatience (and perhaps frustration) with the process. And who quote-tweeted those comments? None other than the People's Cy Young Winner, CC Sabathia. One of the realest Yankees of all time.

Judge particularly took issue with the "waiting around" aspect of the offseason, which has become a staple of Brian Cashman and Co. They do business on their terms. They rarely rush to the front of the line to secure the talent of their desire. They hang out and play chicken while various other opportunities pass them by.

Judge said it was "brutal" to see so many talented players out there (including those who were Yankees in 2025) while nothing got done for weeks and months. He even dropped a "'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."

Some fans take that "we're the Yankees" mantra a bit too far, believing we still live in 2002, but the sentiment does still hold some weight. The franchise has the capability to go above and beyond, as we just saw with their efforts to retain the same exact 2025 ALDS roster (with the exception of Devin Williams and Luke Weaver) in what will feature a record-setting payroll figure. They spend! They have a top-three payroll in the game.

But their particular brand of business does not make it clear they possess such aggression. Again, it's a lot of passive pursuits. For example, offering Cody Bellinger three years and $75 million at the onset of the offseason only to pay him $162.5 million and take on a luxury tax hit of $44+ million in 2026 is absolutely unconscionable. What kind of "business" is that? And why did it take two and a half months to sign the guy everybody knew you were going to end up with?

Aaron Judge thought offseason was "brutal" - just like Yankees fans

Judge also felt like Squidward looking out his Easter Island Statue window watching Spongebob and Patrick frollick around Bikini Bottom as other teams across the league were swinging trades and spending money freely once the 2025 season ended. We can only assume he was talking about the Blue Jays, Dodgers, Mets and Orioles (to name a few), all of whom wasted no time giving their rosters a makeover or further rounding out their championship squads before the Yankees did anything of note.

Most fans truly understand that the business of the game has changed drastically over the last 20 years, and even over the last five. But the Yankees secured Judge to one of the most team-friendly contracts for a perennial MVP candidate when he signed that nine-year, $360 million deal, and it's hard to believe Cashman almost screwed that one up, too. Remember, he leaked the details of the extension that was offered hours before 2022 Opening Day and then the final phase of the free agency negotiations required Hal Steinbrenner to pause his vacation in Italy to give Judge what he wanted.

This franchise owes it to Judge to go out there and be as aggressive as possible whenever they fall short of their ultimate goal. We are not disregarding the Giancarlo Stanton trade, the Gerrit Cole signing, the Juan Soto trade, and the Juan Soto pivot last offseason after he departed for the Mets. Those were all impactful and landscape-altering decisions.

It's just that the Yankees very clearly "stop" after making those 1-2 moves, cap their spending, and claim they're "satisfied" despite there being a lot left to be desired. After trading for Stanton, they cut payroll. After signing Cole, they brought back Brett Gardner and added zero major league talent. After trading for Soto, they signed Marcus Stroman (?) and thought Alex Verdugo was going to be a game-changer for them. After trading for Devin Williams, they let him blow 10 games before realizing he was about to ruin their season.

There just isn't enough urgency, and that's likely where Judge was coming from. And finally, the fans feel validated in their endless frustrations after years of being gaslit by the people in charge.