Aaron Judge Says Yankees Need to Go 'All-In' to Build Roster in Video After MLB Playoffs Exit

On the heels of being swept out of the playoffs by the Tampa Bay Rays, Aaron Judge knows how he would like to see the New York Yankees front office respond to get them back to being a World Series contender in 2027.

After the Yankees' 4-3 loss in Game 3 against the Rays on Wednesday, Judge said the organization needs to go "all-in" to upgrade the roster by "finding certain players or personnel, whatever we need, you got to go out there and get it."

Judge went on to say it's "tough to say" if the front office has done enough recently because the Yankees are competitive every season, but "that's not good enough" for how high the expectations always are for the franchise.

This season, for instance, New York was one of only three teams with a payroll over $300 million. The New York Mets ($346.7 million) and Los Angeles Dodgers ($339.3 million) are the others.

If the Yankees want to stay around the $300 million mark, they won't have a lot of room to operate as things currently stand. They have $276.4 million in payroll allocations on the books for 2027.

It's overly simplistic to say Judge being healthy might have swung the entire American League toward the Bronx, but the numbers show how much their offensive production suffered without him in 2026.

In the three months Judge missed from June 1 through Sept. 7 due to a stress fracture in his rib, the Yankees had a bottom-five offense in MLB.

The fact that New York's lineup was so reliant on one player, albeit arguably the best hitter of this generation, does lend credence to Judge's point about the front office needing to do a better job of adding talent.

There really isn't a lot the Yankees need to do to take the next step beyond the lineup. They had the best team ERA in MLB during the regular season and were an above-average defensive club by defensive runs saved.

One potential area of concern is the Yankees had the fifth-oldest roster in MLB this season. Judge will turn 35 in April. Gerrit Cole turned 36 on Sept. 8. Max Fried will be 33 on Jan. 18.

The Yankees have been a strong developmental organization, particularly on the pitching side with Cam Schlittler likely to win the AL Cy Young award. Ben Rice had a star-making season with 41 homers.

It is rare for Judge to speak out like this in public, so the fact he did after the Yankees were swept in the ALDS might suggest some frustration on his part or at least an attempt to put pressure on general manager Brian Cashman and his staff going into the offseason.