Aaron Judge told reporters before the end of the 2023 season that there were parts of the Yankee operation that he wanted to give his thoughts on to the front office, and those talks were had during the offseason.
Coming out of those talks and now heading into spring training, the Yankee captain seems pleased with where those conversations led, as he arrives at spring training with new teammates like Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo, who he believes embody the type of player that he wants the organization to covet.
“I think a lot of it will go unnoticed, but I think we had a lot of great talks in the offseason,” Judge said. “Getting a chance to talk with Hal and Cash a lot, I think the time he spent with me and Gerrit, all of us just talking about different things that we value and them explaining what they value, I think we were able to come to a clear answer.
“I’ve always been a guy about, you win games when you drive people in…RBIs and runs have always mattered to me, that's one thing that I try to take pride in. It may not be something you can measure, but driving a guy in is a skill.”
Judge made it clear that he values players with the profile of putting the ball in play and keeping the carousel moving on the basepaths, and believes the likes of Soto and Verdugo satisfy that model.
“I’ve always liked having guys that can drive people in,” Judge said. “When you go out and get a Juan Soto, get a Verdugo, you get guys that put the ball in play and can drive guys in, I think that makes a statement about how they believe in things and what they want to do. So I’m pretty excited about some of the things that are happening.”
