Aaron Judge's frustration with Yankees is understandable, but his 'all-in' criticism misses the mark

I preface this by saying have overstayed their welcome in the Bronx.

But Aaron Judge knows how the average New York Yankees fan operates, and quite frankly, he has played them like a fiddle over the last couple of weeks.

When Boone confirmed that Judge had a "moderate" calf strain, Judge made it a point that night that he was not happy his manager, who has his players backs to a fault, had divulged that (obviously true) information. He made it known that if it were up to him, hed be on the field in the postseason, arguably putting pressure on the team.

Then, minutes after the Yankees were swept by the Tampa Bay Rays, he all but threw the front office under the bus.

Judge said he wanted the organization to be "all-in," and when asked if he felt they had been, he said, "its tough to say."

"I want to trade for everybody, sign everybody every single year, but I know that's not realistic. They give us a winning team every single year, but that's not good enough here in New York. We're the Yankees. You've got to go out there and expect championships and go all-in every year. I'm excited to see what they do," Judge said.

It goes without saying that the offseason of running back practically the same team, headlined by giving Trent Grisham the $22 million qualifying offer, was not exactly a decision made in a Mensa meeting.

But the Yankees have a payroll of over $308 million. The three teams remaining in the American League have a combined payroll of $273.4 million. Are the Rays, Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians "all-in"?

Look, guys like Grisham, Ryan McMahon and Jazz Chisholm didnt work here, whether it was the weight of New York or an organizational philosophy just not meshing.

Maybe Cashman should have made a harder push for, say, catcher Adley Rutschman – although Austin Wells bat was the least of the Yankees' concerns after the All-Star break and in October. Maybe there are a few prospects out there, like Jasson Dominguez, Clint Frazier and Miguel Andujar, that Cashman held on to for too long. Maybe gambling on the future of Anthony Volpe instead of bringing in the proven Corey Seager (who just hit a career-worst .227 at age 32 with six years left on his deal) was the wrong move. Maybe doing the same with George Lombard Jr. and passing on Tarik Skubal (as if they really needed him) is a mistake, too.

But before Judge even had his first arbitration case, the Yankees acquired reigning National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton, eventual MVP candidate DJ LeMahieu, and bona fide ace Gerrit Cole, fresh off a 326-strikeout, 2.50 ERA season.

Throughout his tenure, they have added players like Anthony Rizzo, Carlos Rodon, Cody Bellinger, Devin Williams, David Bednar, Luis Garcia and Max Fried, while turning almost anyone who walks into the bullpen into a threat. The Yankees have developed their next MVP candidate in Ben Rice, and Cam Schlittler is going to win the Cy Young Award next month in his first full MLB season.

Meanwhile, anyone reading this would be lucky to name a total of 10 people on this years notably all-in Rays, White Sox and Guardians.

To make a guess, the one "all-in" move that could have been made was keeping Juan Soto. The Yankees acquired him after missing the postseason in 2023, knowing