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New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge may no longer see Juan Soto batting ahead of him but the club has tried to increase production by signing Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt.
Bellinger was traded to the Yankees by the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Cody Poteet. The Yankees also received $5 million in cash considerations to cover Bellinger's salary. Meanwhile, Goldschmidt was signed as a free agent on a one-year, $12.5 million deal this offseason.
Almost all Yankees stars have already reported to the club's spring training facilities in Tampa, Florida. On Monday, Judge reposted a photo from the Yankees account showing him standing beside Bellinger.
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In the image, two sluggers are seen casually training under the Florida sun. Judge, wearing Yankees pinstripes, watches intently as Bellinger throws a baseball into the air, bat in hand, looking focused.
Aaron Judge wanted Yankees front office to go after Cody Bellinger
After losing the AL MVP finalist Juan Soto in free agency, Aaron Judge let the front office know who could possibly replace the outfielder. The suggested name was Cody Bellinger, a former NL MVP coming off a 2024 season with a .266 batting average, 18 home runs and 78 RBIs with the Cubs.
During an interview with YES Network, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner revealed behind-the-scenes play in Bellinger's acquisition.
"He's been phenomenal," Steinbrenner said. "As you know, he spends so much time in the clubhouse, he's been phenomenal as a leader as well. But what he's done in the field is amazing.
"We've talked a little bit about the fact that he's probably going to be seeing some more time in right field. I'm not sure he's about that. He really wanted us to go out and get Bellinger, and he's a big part of the reason why we did."
Judge's request was enough to convince Steinbrenner to take a bet on Bellinger, who has yet to mirror his MVP-winning production in 2019. That season, he finished with career highs in batting average (.305), home runs (47) and RBIs (115) with the LA Dodgers.
