The 2026 season feels like business as usual to both Brian Cashman and Aaron Judge.
The New York Yankees captain shared his sentiments about the team’s renewed urgency with ESPN after the general manager said the Yankees were operating normally this year.
The Yankees entered Wednesday’s getaway-day game against the Baltimore Orioles 11 games over .500 and with the second-best record in the American League. They only trail the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays, who are 28-13, by two games in the AL East.
Aaron Judge: The Yankees are Operating Normally
The Yankees are squarely in win-now mode, and Cashman’s moves were designed at giving the Yankees the best chance to win this year.
So far it’s worked. New York has the fourth-best win percentage in the majors (.628) behind only the Rays, Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs.
But the vibe hasn’t changed, according to Judge.
“The urgency’s been the same since I stepped on the field,” Judge told ESPN. “So, that won’t change with me if I’m 42 or if I’m 21.”
The Yankees were maligned for not loading up extra in the offseason, aside from a trade for left-handed starter Ryan Weathers. New York’s biggest move was re-signing Cody Bellinger to a five-year contract, and reupping Trent Grisham on a one-year contract, effectively running it back from the end of last year.
Yet, Judge alluded to the fact the Yankees have dominated since Cashman pivoted after last year’s trade deadline. New York is 61-30 in its past 91 regular-season games dating back to last year.
“All offseason, all spring training. Like, they couldn’t wait to write a report about the Yankees running it back, which is kind of funny,” Judge said. “It’s like taking a test. You take a test for the first time and then you kind of see how it turns out; but then if you come back and take the same test with the same questions, same answers, you’re going to do a little better.”
Aaron Judge is Unperturbed by his Legacy
Much of the external pressure stems from the Yankees’ 17-year championship drought but also the fact Judge is by far the best player in the team’s history to not win a championship.
Judge, of course, holds the franchise and American League record for single-season home runs (62) and is one of just 13 players, and became the fifth to don the Yankees uniform, to win at least three league MVPs in his career with his back-to-back AL MVPs in 2024 and 2025.
He carried the Yankees to the World Series in 2024, but they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.
But Judge isn’t focused on winning a title to cement his legacy. He wants the Yankees to win a title because that’s their goal every year.
“There’s not an extra urgency [to] my will to win and my will to bring a championship back here,” Judge said. “That’s always been at the highest every single year.
“I think the urgency of what I can give back to this game, what I can give back to my teammates, is at an all-time high every single year because there’s guys in this room that I only get to play with this year. I’ll never see them again. So, what kind of impact can I have on them to further their career and help us win games?”
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