Are the Yankees Betraying Aaron Judge?

When Aaron Judge signed a nine-year, $360 million contract to stay with the New York Yankees in December 2022, he was under the impression that the Yankees would do everything in their power to win World Series championships.

But are the Yankees actually holding up their end of the bargain?

We are now past Christmas, and New York has done nothing of significance this offseason. Little by little, names are being taken off the market, and the Yanks are sitting idly by.

Yes, the Yankees seem to be waiting on Cody Bellinger, but they also seem to be doing so at the expense of the rest of their roster.

The Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles have all made moves to improve this winter. I understand that the Blue Jays and Red Sox have not re-signed Bo Bichette and Alex Bregman, respectively, just yet, but they have at least been busy elsewhere.

New York has done virtually nothing outside of re-signing Ryan Yarbrough, Paul Blackburn and Amed Rosario. Where are the impactful moves?

It is entirely possible the Yankees are trying to work the trade market, and that could move slowly. We have heard them connected to Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Freddy Peralta numerous times over the last several weeks, so maybe there is something there.

But is New York going to do anything else in the meantime? Or is Hal Steinbrenner dead set on keeping the payroll below a certain number?

At this point, you do have to wonder if the incredibly mild-mannered Judge is getting frustrated. The Yankees definitely have one of the better rosters in baseball, but is it good enough? Even if they re-sign Bellinger without making any other major moves, I'm not so sure.

This squad just lost to Toronto in a four-game ALDS matchup that wasn't particularly close. New York also seems to be light years away from the Los Angeles Dodgers, who just won their second straight World Series title (the first of which came at New York's expense).

It feels like we are living in the twilight zone watching the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins actually being more active in free agency than the Bronx Bombers, but nevertheless, here we are.

Of course, things could change in the blink of an eye. Maybe the Yankees have deals for Peralta and Arizona Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte within their sights. Or maybe New York will swing an out-of-nowhere deal that no one is anticipating. It has happened before.

And to be fair, the Yanks did spend plenty last winter. They offered $760 million to Juan Soto. They signed Max Fried and Paul Goldschmidt. They completed trades to add Bellinger and Devin Williams.

I'm not trying to say the Yankees haven't tried ... but it really has not been enough, and their silence this offseason could be (should be) irritating to Judge, who will turn 34 years old in April and probably doesn't have many more truly elite seasons remaining.

New York is definitely waking a tight rope with Judge and could very well be in danger of wasting whatever is left of his prime.