There is no doubt that New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge has disappointed in the postseason. The captain, who has twice won the American League Most Valuable Player award and has set the Yankees' franchise and AL record for home runs in the season, has not had dominating performances in October.
But is he just a “regular-season player?” Former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon thinks so and predicts the slugger's 2025 regular season will be rough.
"I think he's gonna have to find something else that propels him," Papelbon said on a recent episode of Foul Territory. "I know he's a regular season player, but the first month to me is gonna be very interesting.”
Judge got off to a rough start in 2024, hitting just .207/.340/.414 with six home runs through April. He then went on to slash .322/.458/.701 with 58 homers and a 1.159 OPS.
That dropped off significantly in the postseason.
He hit .184/.344/.408 with three home runs and a .752 OPS with 20 strikeouts and 11 walks over 14 games in the playoffs.
Papelbon feels that is a red flag for Judge going into 2025.
"Here's the thing, at the end of the day, all baseball players are mental, man," Papelbon said. "They all are. We're just built that way, and we press. I mean, I've pressed, we've all pressed at certain times. I think that the pressing from what he showed in the playoffs is gonna just continue… I think he's gonna be going up against much better pitching staffs in the AL East this year… Honestly, I think the struggles continue.”
There isn't a lot of evidence to support Papelbon's claims. Judge, 32, is in the peak years of a power-hitter's career. Almost all of his underlying offensive numbers from last season improved from 2023.
Still, until Judge leads the Yankees to a World Series or has a dominating postseason, he will be considered anything other than a tremendous regular-season player.
