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The New York Yankees recent postseason woes continued this season, as they crashed out of the ALCS after getting swept by the Houston Astros. Now, they must turn their attention towards re-signing Aaron Judge, who is set to hit free agency after a historic season of hitting that saw him enter the record books.
Judge's regular season hitting heroics didn't carry over to the postseason, and he's ultimately a big reason why the Yankees ended up getting sent home by the Astros. In a sense, that may scare the Yankees, or any team for that matter, from making a run at Judge in free agency this offseason.
Even with that in mind, it doesn't seem like good business for the Yankees to let the best hitter in the MLB leave in free agency without making a push to re-sign him. Here are three key reasons the Yankees need to re-sign Judge, even after he struggled mightily in the playoffs this season.
3. The Yankees rely heavily on Aaron Judge's production in their lineup
It's no secret that Judge was the best hitter in the MLB this season, obviously making him the best hitter in the Yankees lineup as well. And while no one really comes close to Judge's numbers, the gap between him and the rest of his teammates is quite large, and if the Yankees can't re-sign him, they will have a major hole in their lineup that they simply won't be able to fill.
Let's take a look at why that's the case. Having a .300 batting average in the MLB is tough, and Judge's .311 batting average was easily the best on his team. The next closest batting average from players who played over 100 games was .261, which both DJ LeMahieu and Isiah Kiner-Falefa had at the end of the season. That's a 50-point drop off.
Judge paced the Yankees in just about every hitting category, and his ability to not just drive in runs at a high rate, but also get on base consistently, makes him an invaluable part of their lineup. Judge obviously produces like no one else in the league, and the Yankees are in no position to lose Judge, meaning their lineup could struggle mightily if he decides to leave.
2. The Yankees have no way to replace Aaron Judge's production if he leaves
Piggybacking off of that, if the Yankees let Judge leave in free agency, they will be going up a creek without a paddle. Judge powered New York's offense to the playoffs this season. It's no surprise to see that once he fell apart in the playoffs, the rest of the team couldn't pick up the slack.
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New York has some powerful sluggers such as Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo playing behind Judge, and while they both hit 30+ home runs this season, Rizzo hit just .224 while Stanton was even worse at .211. Rizzo was the only other player in New York's lineup who had an OPS above .800, with Judge's coming in at an astronomically high 1.111.
That can't be replaced with one player obviously, but the Yankees have no way to replace Judge if he leaves. They are a boom or bust team without Judge, relying heavily on home runs to drive in runs. Some nights it works, but as we saw in the ALCS, it's not a strategy that will lead to a World Series title, which is the Yankees ultimate goal moving forward. Without Judge, they can kiss that goal goodbye.
1. Aaron Judge was the best hitter in the MLB in 2022
Even with all the other reasons that everyone wants to discuss when it comes to the Judge debate, it all boils down to one thing. You cannot allow the best hitter in baseball to leave for nothing in free agency. At this point, that's what the Yankees are toying with doing, and the future of their franchise hangs in the balance.
Judge was the best hitter in baseball last season, and it wasn't particularly close. You can say what you want about his postseason struggles, and they certainly are real, but is that really a good reason to not re-sign the player who just put together one of the best seasons in the history of the league? Judge will likely get a deal way bigger than he should, but that's how the MLB works, and the Yankees want to make sure they are the team paying him.
All the other noise needs to be ignored by New York. Common sense says you cannot lose a player of Judge's caliber, and that's true here. The Yankees need to do whatever it takes to bring him back for the 2023 season and beyond, otherwise, things could go south for them real fast in the future.
