NEW YORK — Shifting back and forth as he towered over reporters in the center of the Yankees’ clubhouse late Tuesday night, Aaron Judge took a beat and a deep breath.
The first question of his postgame scrum after a 5-2 loss to the rival Rays was in regards to the Yankees’ inactivity at the trade deadline.
All general manager Brian Cashman did was bolster the bullpen with two right-handed relievers. Keynan Middleton was obtained from the White Sox, an upgrade as a middle reliever. Spencer Howard was snatched from the Rangers, an upside pickup that was once a top prospect who was subsequently optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Was Judge surprised that the front office didn’t do more to make this roster better?
“We added a couple arms, but like we’ve been saying all week and the past couple days, it’s on us as players,” Judge said. “We’re fully capable with the guys that we’ve got in this room to go out there and compete on a daily basis. The results haven’t come obviously all year, but we’ve still got two months left on the season and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
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The captain’s vote of confidence in this team’s underperforming roster is in line with manager Aaron Boone’s unwavering message, the same sentiment that Cashman conveyed as he met with reporters a few hours after the deadline passed.
Other avenues were explored, but the Yankees stood pat because they still believe that this team has what it takes.
“We know that we have better baseball in us, although we haven’t shown that and proven that,” Cashman said. “We’ve got two more months to show that now.”
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There must’ve been a moment on Tuesday night — whether it was right as the deadline passed or after the Yankees’ latest lifeless loss — where Judge recognized that reinforcements weren’t coming on offense. While other…
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