Aaron Judge is probably the player on the New York Yankees roster with the lowest chance of getting traded, but even he feels anxious during the wheeling and dealing season in MLB.
He had that scare moments before being informed that he received the Clemente Award for Philanthropy.
He shared that he received a call from Jason Zillo, the team's vice president of communications and media relations, and the first thing he thought about was trade news.
"You got a minute? This is very important," Judge recalled.
"Is there a trade going on? What's going on? Something important?'"
It was only later that he learned that he earned a distinction for his off-field work.
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The Clemente Award is named after two-time World Series champion Roberto Clemente, who died in a plane crash while delivering aid to Nicaragua.
"He set the standard for what it was to be a complete player. And that's something I try to model my game after," Judge said. "The 3,000 hits is impressive, the batting average, the home run numbers. But, honestly, I'm jealous of the Gold Gloves."
There is no trade yet, but changes are necessary.
The Yankees, last year's ALCS finalist, dismally finished the 2023 season after failing to reach the postseason.
Judge hinted that changes will be made for the team as they try to improve from last season's finish.
"Changes could mean a lot of different things, from philosophies, players, coaches, everything," Judge said. "We haven't made it to the big dance in quite a few years, so, we got some work to do."
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