"We want to maximize Aaron Judge's prime" - MLB analyst defends Yankees not going after Pete Alonso, Alex Bregman & others

Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees lost out on a big reason for their success in 2024 with Juan Soto heading to free agency. Unfortunately, the Bronx Bombers were unable to re-sign the four-time All-Star and he signed with the New York Mets instead.

There were other elite talent on the open market, like Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman, who still sit without a contract for 2025. However, the Bronx Bombers have not made a serious move to sign either player.

The club feels fine with where they are at. They have already signed Max Fried, Devin Williams, Cody Bellinger, and Paul Goldschmidt to fill their immediate holes this offseason. Team beat writer Jorge Castillo is more than impressed with what the Yanks have been able to do, via the Baseball Tonight Podcast.

"Bringing in Max Fried, one of the top three starting pitchers on the market, Devin Williams [is] one of the best closers out there, Cody Bellinger, who seemed like the perfect fit - left-handed hitter, first base, center field, and left field - positions that they needed. Paul Goldschmidt will play first base. They did really well," said Castillo.

Castillo states the team did a great job at filling in the necessary holes. They have done what they have needed to do, trying to maximize their captain's prime years.

"We want to maximize Aaron Judge's prime. Gerrit Cole is still in his prime. Let's go out and get Devin Williams, who is going to be a free agent unless they come up with a contract extension here before the free agency. He's going to be a free agent, let's maximize this year, and next year we'll have more money off the books," said Castillo.

The defense held Aaron Judge and the Yankees back in 2024

New York Yankees - Aaron Judge (Photo via IMAGN)

Defense was a problem for the Yankees in 2024. They made costly errors they should not have, like when Aaron Judge dropped a routine fly ball in the World Series.

Castillo saw the shaky defense all year last season, putting the team in some tough spots. If they want to succeed in 2025, they will have to clean up their glovework.

"If you watched the Yankees as much as I did last year on a day-to-day basis, you came away with that conclusion. This is a bad defensive team" said Castillo.

All eyes are going to be on the team's defense coming into the new season. Players are going to be closely monitored in camp with positional battles looming.