It is both a sigh of relief and cheers of excitement that our home-grown slugger is back in pinstripes. To even picture Aaron Judge in another uniform was nauseating. And now that Judge's negotiations are over, the Yankees need to get down to business with the rest of the team. The Yankees have a lot to do now that Judge is back. In fact it was Aaron Judge that told leadership he wanted to see improvement if he was to turn down the opportunity to pitch at home in San Francisco and leave $400 million on the table for San Diego. Time to own up to this pledge to do better.
According to CBS Sports, "Left field is a glaring need and adding another starting pitcher is never a bad idea. The left side of the infield needs work too, though the Yankees do have good internal options there. Judge getting back was an important offseason goal. Now the Yankees have to improve the roster around him." Aaron Hicks offered nothing since signing his big contract a few seasons ago. His stints to the IL and lack of hustle in the field only added salt to the Yankees wounds.
"During the Winter Meetings, general manager Brian Cashman told reporters that the Yankees would “love” to bring Andrew Benintendi back. Last season was a career year for Benintendi, who was an All-Star for the first time. He hit .320 with a 124 OPS+ before joining the Yankees. In New York, he hit just .254 with a 109 OPS+ in 33 games before a broken hamate bone ended his season," reported NJ.com. The Yankees have also expressed their interest in Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds who asked to be traded earlier this week. The switch hitting All Star would make a great addition to the Yankees but it will cost them a lot to get him.
Then there is starting pitching. The Yankees parted ways with Jameson Taillon earlier this week. Taillon accepted a four-year, $68 million deal late Tuesday night with the Cubs, pending a physical. That leaves a hole in the middle of the rotation, one the Yankees need to quickly fill.
"The Yankees are preparing to make an offer to Carlos Rodon, their top remaining target, and seem hopeful, or perhaps even optimistic, which shouldn’t come as a surprise the way this winter has gone. The Yankees beat out the Giants (who also are pursuing Rodon) for their own superstar Aaron Judge, and the Mets kept Brandon Nimmo, also preventing him from going to San Francisco," reported The New York Post. Rodon is a hard throwing left-hander and ironically was a Giant, last season. In 2022, he posted a 2.88 ERA, and 237 strikeouts over 178 innings.
The Yankees have a lot to do now that Judge is back for good. Let's hope they can get some deals done before the end of the year and start 2023 in a great and powerful way.
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--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof
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