Gerrit Cole, Aaron Judge Will Play Part In Fixing Yankees

The New York Yankees had one of their worst seasons in a decade, and their top stars hope that never happens again.

New York finished 82-80 in the 2023 Major League Baseball season, which was good for fourth in the American League East. The Bronx Bombers missed the postseason for the first time since 2016, but manager Aaron Boone and general manager Brian Cashman will return next season.

The Yankees have clear needs to address this upcoming offseason, and Gerrit Cole believes the team's star players must have input.

"I think the players need to be represented," Cole told reporters last weekend in Kansas City, per the New York Post's Greg Joyce. "Between Aaron (Judge) and I, that will happen."

Cole and Judge met with owner Hal Steinbrenner monthly during the season, but the AL Cy Young favorite felt the conversations didn't go deep enough. Cole also admitted he wasn't sure what to expect this offseason, but knows everyone has a common goal.

"We certainly have a lot of horsepower in every department that we have," Cole said. "But we got to get better. They're going to try to figure out how that is and look at everywhere, I guess, to see how we can elevate our game."

Cole and Judge are among the highest-paid players in MLB, so it's unlikely New York will make a run at Shohei Ohtani. But it will be in the running to sign Japanese phenom Yoshinobu Yamamoto -- the Boston Red Sox will be, too -- and it would not be a surprise to see the Yankees sign multiple players to fill up holes on their roster.