Aaron Judge’s frustrations about the pace of the Yankees’ offseason left Michael Kay scratching his head.
The voice of the Yankees on YES Network said during his eponymous ESPN NY radio show Tuesday he wasn’t sure where Judge was coming from by expressing that the beginning of the offseason was “tough to watch,” while also stating he wanted the team to bring back Cody Bellinger and ultimately being pleased with Brian Cashman’s moves.
“Didn’t it seem somewhat to you passive aggressive?” Kay asked a caller. “Like, he was frustrated but then he loves the team that they have. So, what was he frustrated about? Just the pace, that they didn’t do things right away? If you’re gonna lock in to getting Bellinger, then you’re a victim to Scott Boras’ whim. So, to me, it sounded almost passive aggressive.”
Kay argued that once Bellinger became the priority, the Yankees couldn’t do anything else and had to wait out the sweepstakes Boras was trying to drum up for the versatile outfielder/first baseman.
“He sounded frustrated but then sounded satisfied. Little passive aggressive, but in the end, I love this team, and this is the team he wanted,” Kay said.
“I don’t understand what Aaron’s saying. Where would you have made the changes?”
For any Yankees fans who hoped the team would pursue Alex Bregman, Kay says the third baseman — who signed with the Cubs — was never an option for them and they’ve “never been engaged on Bregman” because they don’t think the righty’s swing would play at Yankee Stadium.
And regarding Kyle Tucker, Kay made the point that there’d be no spot for Tucker with Bellinger and Trent Grisham back in the fold.
Judge said at spring training on Monday he expressed his feelings to the front office.
“Early on, it was pretty tough to watch,” Judge said. “I’m like, ‘Man, we’re the New York Yankees, let’s go out there and get the right people, get the right pieces to go out there and finish this thing off.’ We got a special group of players here, we got a good core, good young core. So it was frustrating, but I think we’re right where we need to be.”