Yankees Prove They Need Aaron Judge, but It Shouldn't Be That Way

Judge’s absence hamstrung the Yankees in October, but for a team with a roster being paid over $300 million, that shouldn’t be the case.

Aaron Judge wasn’t available for the ALDS, and the Yankees struggled offensively in his absence. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Rays completed their American League division series sweep of the Yankees on Wednesday night, and the franchise nicknamed the Bronx Bombers really didn’t put up much of a fight with their bats.

They were one-hit by Drew Rasmussen in the series opener before putting on one of the worst defensive performances in postseason history in Game 2. Through those two games, New York had just two runs, both via solo shots from Ben Rice. Tampa Bay shut the door on the Yankees in the Bronx in Game 3 with a 4–3 win that showed yet again how much they need injured superstar Aaron Judge in the lineup.

Wednesday’s game may generate controversy after a potential game-tying home run by Anthony Volpe was overturned on review, but the right call was made to change the play to an RBI double, and New York never scored again. The Rays, meanwhile, got all four runs they’d need off Yankees starter Max Fried, including two home runs.

New York scored 18 runs in two games against the Red Sox in the wild-card series, but the offense looked lifeless during the ALDS against the Rays. Judge’s absence weighed heavily on the lineup, as it did throughout much of the regular season. Of the five runs New York scored in the ALDS, three were off the bat of Ben Rice. The only other players to contribute an RBI were Spencer Jones and Anthony Volpe, the latter of whom was on the bench for the first two games of the series.

Judge’s impact on this team is monumental. With him in the lineup during the regular season, New York had a .770 OPS across 66 games. Without Judge, that figure plummeted drastically to .687. A .770 OPS (over the course of a full season) would be the best in MLB, while a .687 equates to the No. 29 offense in the league. They go from quite literally being the best offense in MLB with Judge available, to the second-worst when he’s sidelined. For a team that boasts the third-highest payroll in the sport, it’s simply unacceptable that the loss of one player, even one of Judge’s caliber, creates such a significant fall-off.

Trent Grisham was paid $22 million this season, $13 million more than any player on Tampa Bay’s active roster. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There are six players on the roster making more than $20 million annually––seven if you count Max Fried, whose contract is backloaded. Of those six, four are position players; Judge, Cody Bellinger, Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham. Stanton, as has been the case far too often throughout the later stages of his career, dealt with injuries for much of the campaign, and he only made two postseason at-bats––both of which resulted in strikeouts. Bellinger hit a grand slam against Boston in the wild-card series, but he produced just one hit in the ALDS, going 1-for-12 at the plate. Grisham, whose $22.02 million salary is $13 million more than any player on Tampa Bay’s active roster, was even worse. He went hitless in the series across 11 at-bats and didn’t draw a single walk.

The Yankees’ payroll exceeds $300 million, while the Rays outplayed them in three consecutive games with a payroll below $100 million. Ryan Vilade and Victor Mesa Jr., both of whom hit home runs in the series-clinching win in Game 3, are each making less than $1 million per season.

VICTOR MESA JR. NO-DOUBT

Rays go back in front! pic.twitter.com/7Fn7DczHGj

— MLB (@MLB) October 8, 2026

This series likely would’ve looked plenty different if Judge was healthy. That’s not to say the Yankees would’ve reached the ALCS, and they might not even have won a single game against this scrappy Rays team. But one can comfortably assume they’d have scored more than five runs and generated more than 13 hits in three games. New York has plenty of talent in its lineup, yet has shown time and time again it can’t consistently produce without Judge.

The Yankees struck out 31 times in three games during the ALDS while drawing just seven walks. The team combined for a .130/.192/.239 slash line, all of which were the worst in any multi-game postseason series in franchise history, per Stathead’s Katie Sharp. The Yankees didn’t hold a lead at any point during the three-game series, and only had seven at-bats with runners in scoring position, another indication of how poorly they hit for contact.

Jazz Chisholm Jr., a pending free agent, went hitless during the ALDS. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The team got next to nothing out of its role players during the ALDS, whereas the Rays received production from their entire lineup. Ryan McMahon and Jazz Chisholm, who made $16 million and $10.2 million this season, respectively––more than any player on the Rays—both went hitless in the series and made some costly defensive miscues. Top trade deadline acquisition Luis Garcia Jr. also failed to record a hit. Additionally, the team is paying Carlos Rodon $27 million per season, and he didn’t throw a single pitch during the postseason.

That all points to some questionable roster construction from the Yankees—especially when contrasted with the Dodgers, who advanced to the NLCS on Wednesday despite receiving next to nothing from superstar Shohei Ohtani for more than a month now.

New York prioritizes power at the plate, forgoing fundamental defense and contact hitting. They hit the second-most home runs in MLB this season, but had the sixth-most strikeouts and fifth-worst batting average. While that strategy has typically served them well in the regular season, their inability to get runners on base in October hindered them considerably. That was clear against a Rays team that functions essentially as polar opposites of the Yankees––a defensively sound team that runs the bases well, racks up base hits and looks to string together rallies. And for a team that’s built around hitting for power, it’s concerning to see Tampa Bay, which ranked 22nd in MLB in home runs this year, hit more homers in the series than New York.

Brian Cashman & Co. have some important decisions to make this offseason, perhaps most importantly whether to bring Aaron Boone back for his 10th season as the Yankees manager. It’s been 17 years since the franchise last won a World Series, and if they intend to put an end to that franchise-record drought, they need to build a roster capable of withstanding an injury to its top player.

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