Judge frustrated by slow winter; says Yanks now in good spot - ESPN

TAMPA, Fla. — Aaron Judge fretted like many Yankees fans as big-name free agents kept signing elsewhere.

«It was brutal,» the New York captain said Monday after the team's first full-squad workout. «Early on it was pretty tough to watch. I'm like, 'Man, we're the New York Yankees. Let's go out there and get the right people.'»

New York, seeking its first title since 2009, retained center fielder Trent Grisham early in the offseason but didn't make bigger moves until late.

«Let's sign these guys right now and start adding more pieces because I'm seeing other teams around the league get better,» Judge said. «They're making trades. They're signing big prospects or big players. And we're sitting there for a while kind of making smaller moves.»

Asked whether he made his thoughts known to the Yankees, Judge flashed a toothy grin and said: «Yeah, oh, yeah.»

«It was frustrating, but I think we're right where we need to be,» he said.

Judge spoke at length about a number of topics Monday, including: the lack of a World Series title last year despite winning his third AL MVP award; homering and striking out against 22-year-old flamethrower Carlos Lagrange during Monday's workout; captaining the U.S. in the upcoming World Baseball Classic; and an elbow injury that never fully healed last year.

Judge missed 10 games between July 25 and Aug. 5 because of a flexor strain in his right elbow suffered while making a throw home from right field at Toronto on July 22. He didn't return to the outfield until Sept. 5 and he threw gingerly at 67.9 mph. Judge gained arm strength during the rest of the season but didn't get to 100 percent.

«I've never dealt with any elbow stuff, so I was definitely concerned,» he said.

Judge wasn't sure until