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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

TAMPA — Aaron Judge felt helpless at times late last season as he stood in right field knowing that his arm was not at full strength.

The Yankees right fielder was coming back from a flexor strain in his right elbow and, after strictly DHing for the first month off the injured list, returned to the field in September trying to do the best with what he had.

“That was the toughest thing for me last year, was the pitcher’s working his butt off and the guys around me are working their butt off and then the ball’s hit to me and I had no shot [to throw a runner out],” Judge said Monday.

But his arm began to look more like itself in October and now, four months later, Judge is feeling back to normal.

“It’s feeling great,” Judge said after the first full-squad workout of spring training. “Haven’t had any issues so far. I think we’re ready to go. I’m throwing out there confident. I’ve thrown to bases a couple times already, so no worries. Just excited to get back out there and have the confidence.”

After taking about two weeks off from throwing at the start of the offseason, Judge began his throwing program earlier than usual on the advice of the Yankees training staff.

Once he got to long tossing and could “really let it go,” he felt like he was in the clear.

“The training staff did a great job, they were really the ones pushing for, ‘Let’s have you throw all offseason,’” said Judge, who will leave camp in just under two weeks to play right field for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

About nine months removed from breaking his ankle and suffering ligament damage on a brutal slide home in Seattle, Oswaldo Cabrera is feeling good and took live batting practice Monday.

But there are evidently still barriers for the utility player to clear in order to be ready to start the season on time, with manager Aaron Boone indicating that it depends on how he looks over the next few weeks.

“We’ll take a little time before we get him into [Grapefruit League] games, but the fact that he’s doing everything now is encouraging,” Boone said. “Hopefully, he can continue to get that last layer of maneuverability and things like that.”

Anthony Volpe was scheduled to begin his hitting progression Monday, the latest milestone in his rehab from October surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

The shortstop was set to take dry swings in the training room, Boone said, though he has been able to take ground balls and throw without issues.

Ryan McMahon was held out of the first full-squad workout because of flu-like symptoms.

The Yankees outrighted Yanquiel Fernández to Triple-A, after designating him for assignment last week, and invited the outfielder to big league camp.

TAMPA — Aaron Judge was just like many frustrated Yankees fans early in the offseason.

The only difference is he likes where they ended up.

Judge acknowledged Monday that the early part of the winter was “brutal” waiting for the Yankees to make moves while the rest of the league got better around them. They got Trent Grisham back on the qualifying offer in mid-November but then did not make another significant move until January, highlighted by finally re-signing Cody Bellinger to a long-awaited deal to essentially bring back the league’s best offense in full for 2026.

“Early on, it was pretty tough to watch,” Judge said after the first full-squad workout at George M. Steinbrenner Field. “I’m like, ‘Man, we’re the New York Yankees, let’s go out there and get the right people, get the right pieces to go out there and finish this thing off.’ We got a special group of players here, we got a good core, good young core. So it was frustrating, but I think we’re right where we need to be.”

Asked if he expressed those feelings to the front office, Judge chuckled.

“Yeah, oh yeah,” he said with a grin. “But they took care of business.”

The captain and back-to-back AL MVP, who has Hal Steinbrenner’s ear as the face of the franchise, is now hoping that taking another shot with almost the same group — 24 of the 26 players on the ALDS roster are back with the organization — will end differently than it did last October, when they were clobbered by the Blue Jays.

Running it back has come with a negative connotation for much of the fan base, but not Judge.

“I love it,” he said. “People might have their opinions on it because we didn’t win it all last year, we fell short in the division series. But we get a chance to bring a lot of those guys back, they’re impact players. You bring back a guy like Cody Bellinger, who can play all over the diamond, he can hit in the middle of the order for you, he can come up with a big base hit when he needs to. You bring back Paul Goldschmidt, who’s been an MVP and … what he brings inside that clubhouse, not only on the field, but in the clubhouse. He elevates especially the younger group we have, especially in the infield, we got a young core, and you have a young guy like that, that can help them out, he’s been there and done it. I’m excited.

“You get another year of the young guys to develop, bring back some big pieces, especially Trent Grisham, our center fielder who had a great breakout year. I’m looking forward to it. Then you get to add [Gerrit] Cole down the road a little bit with some other guys. I like our chances.”

Judge is coming off another dominant season in which he won a batting title (.331), crushed 53 home runs, posted a 1.144 OPS and claimed a second straight AL MVP. And after surviving a late-season scare with an elbow flexor strain — that he and the Yankees say is fully healed — Judge got one big monkey off his back by carrying over his regular-season success into the playoffs.

But the giant monkey still looms in that he is entering his 10th full season with the Yankees and he has still yet to win a World Series, for an organization defined by championships. Judge will turn 34 in April, and while there have been no signs of him slowing down, time eventually comes for even the greatest players, and the Yankees are at risk of wasting his prime with each October that ends without a parade.

“I think I’ll never be satisfied until we go out there and finish it, no matter the awards, MVPs, All-Stars, any of that stuff doesn’t matter,” Judge said. “What matters is putting New York back on top and putting this organization back where it belongs, being the best organization in the game.

“I don’t get paid to just play this game, I get paid to win here. So we got to go out and win.”

PORT ST. LUCIE — The Mets are adding a veteran outfielder to compete for a job in camp.

Mike Tauchman, who spent last season with the White Sox, reached agreement Monday on a minor league deal with the Mets, according to an industry source.

Tauchman, 34, appeared in 93 games last season and produced a .263/.356/.400 slash line with nine homers and 40 RBIs. Tauchman played for the Yankees from 2019-21 in a backup role.

With the Mets, he will join Carson Benge, Tyrone Taylor, Brett Baty and MJ Melendez as options to play right field. Benge, the organization’s top position prospect, will receive a long look this spring.

If the lefty-hitting Benge isn’t deemed ready, it could provide an opening for Tauchman.

Juan Soto is set in left field, with Luis Robert Jr. in center.

Carlos Mendoza’s message to the Mets before the initial full-squad workout of spring training Monday was “from the heart” instead of scripted.

“It was just embracing expectations, enjoying the meaning of putting a uniform on, what it means, what we represent and what we’re here for,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza was asked to specify the expectations of which he spoke.

“There’s always high expectations here — our goal is to be the last team standing, and we haven’t done that in the past couple of years,” said Mendoza, who is entering his third season as manager. “It’s just understanding the responsibility and embrace it. We have a real good opportunity to do something special here.”

With so many new faces in the room, the manager said there wasn’t a need to discuss the disappointment of last season, when the team failed to reach the playoffs.

How can cohesion be created with the new pieces?

“I’m the leader, but I also feel like we have a pretty good leadership group there,” Mendoza said. “It’s a group effort, just building relationships, the connections, so we can turn up the trust. That’s how you start forming that foundation and I think that’s important.”

Christian Scott hit 95 mph in two innings of live batting practice that were highlighted by his successive strikeouts of Juan Soto and Bo Bichette.

“I feel like I can get anybody out on this level when my stuff is on and I am competing in the strike zone,” said Scott, who missed last season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

The right-hander said he is ramping up normally to begin the season, having completed his rehab. As a depth rotation piece, he will likely begin the season at Triple-A Syracuse.

The Mets will hold a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for their 55,000-square foot player development complex at Clover Park.

Among the complex’s planned amenities: a 7,000-square foot weight room with a 1,500-square foot cardio mezzanine. Hot and cold plunge pools, treadmill pools and a hydrotherapy area will also be implemented.

PHOENIX – Edwin Diaz hasn’t thrown his first pitch for the Dodgers, but he has already envisioned what it would be like to be to throw the last one of a World Series.

“Of course,” Diaz said in Spanish.

The sound of the crowd. The celebration on the mound. The overwhelming emotions.

“I imagine it’s an incredible feeling,” Diaz said.

In each of the three championships the Dodgers won in the last six years, the final out was recorded by a starting pitcher.

Julio Urias in 2020.

Walker Buehler in 2024.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto last year.

As a closer for nearly his entire 10-year career, Diaz has aspired to share that distinction with them. His chances dramatically improved in December when he signed a three-year, $69-million contract with the two-time defending World Series champions.

“Every person, every player dreams of winning the World Series,” the former Mets fireman said. “If they give me the opportunity and I’m the last person on the mound, it would be a dream come true.”

The plans are for Diaz to have that opportunity.

The three-time All-Star will be the Dodgers’ most established ninth-inning specialist since Kenley Jansen, the franchise’s all-time saves leader.

“It’s huge,” manager Dave Roberts said.

Last year showed why. The Dodgers had two closers in Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, but neither of them pitched well. The late-inning instability forced Roberts to constantly move his relievers into different roles, with inexperienced arms occasionally forced into high-leverage situations for which they were not ready.

Injuries to the starting pitchers contributed to the relievers being overused, the Dodgers’ bullpen leading the majors in innings pitched. 

Heading into the postseason, it looked as if the relievers might cost the Dodgers another championship. Ultimately, they were saved by the unexpected emergence of Roki Sasaki as a closer, as well as the heroics of Yamamoto.

Even before the Dodgers signed Diaz, they were hopeful the bullpen results would improve. Scott and Blake Treinen have recovered from their respective injuries. Evan Phillips, Brock Stewart and Brusdar Graterol are coming back from surgeries and expected to return at some point this season.

“This year, having everybody healthy and with a good reset, adding a guy like Edwin, with the young guys coming back, it will be good,” Treinen said.

As Treinen referenced, the Dodgers have some high-throwing youngsters, including Edgardo Henriquez, Justin Wrobleski, Jack Dreyer, Will Klein and Ben Casparius. 

Left-hander Alex Vesia also returns after a season in which he pitched a career-high 68 games. The workhorse missed the World Series because of the death of his newborn daughter.

“Myself, being able to be a part of this bullpen is a plus,” Diaz said. “I came here to help this team win another championship. At the end of the day, if I do my job, we’ll be in good position.”

From Roberts’ perspective, everything starts with Diaz 

“I don’t think there’s one way to manage a ‘pen, but when you have a guy like Edwin Diaz as your closer, I do think it frees up the other guys, myself included,” Roberts said.

Because Diaz will pitch the ninth inning regardless of who’s batting for the other team, Roberts will be able to deploy the team’s other relievers more strategically based on specific matchups.

An example: The left-handed Scott can be unleashed against the portions of lineups containing the opponents’ best left-handed hitters.

“Being able to use Tanner in any inning of leverage is going to be good for him and going to be good for us,” Roberts said.

Roberts said he likes what Diaz brings to the team. 

Watching Diaz from the opposing bench, Roberts said he found him to be fearless. In three postseason games against the Dodgers in the 2024 National League Championship Series, Diaz pitched 5 ⅓ scoreless innings with six strikeouts and a save.

“Not afraid,” Roberts said. “When he’s in the game, it’s an uncomfortable at-bat for lefties and righties. Just a great competitor.”

With Roberts as manager, matchups have dictated bullpen roles, especially in the postseason. Diaz said the team could deploy him however it sees necessary.

“I think that in the postseason, there aren’t any defined roles because there could be a situation in any inning and the manager will look at how to get out of that and win the game,” Diaz said. “Sometimes, the game isn’t won in the ninth inning. Sometimes, it’s won in the sixth or seventh.”

Still, Diaz acknowledged it would be special for him to pitch the final out of the final game.

“Of course, if they give me the opportunity to close the final game of the World Series, it would be an achievement for me,” Diaz said.

He has already pictured the scene in his head. He’s now ready to live it.

Steve Cohen has never been shy about flexing both muscle and microphone. This week, the owner of the New York Mets turned his attention west, toward the gold standard of spending and winning — the Los Angeles Dodgers — and more specifically, toward their newly signed closer, Edwin Díaz.

“They’re formidable,” Cohen said, measuring his words like a trader reading a volatile market. “They have the ability to spend, but so do I by the way.”

Translation: Don’t mistake Queens for small market humility.

Cohen made it clear that while Los Angeles may collect All-Stars like beachfront property, he believes the Mets are built for collision, not comparison. The goal, he said, is to “meet them somewhere along the way in the playoffs.” That’s not hope. That’s a forecast, and a potential warning shot across the bow to the back-to-back World Series champions. 

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But the sharper edge came when Cohen addressed Díaz’s departure. The Mets pivoted to Devin Williams after losing their All-Star closer, a move Cohen described as “really clever.” He even suggested New York’s offer to Díaz “might’ve been better,” raising eyebrows from Citi Field to Chavez Ravine.

Díaz, now wearing Dodger blue in Glendale, Arizona didn’t blink. “I was a free agent,” he said calmly. “The Dodgers did a great job recruiting me. At the end of the day, I chose to be here.”

And that’s the part that stings.

Because in today’s MLB arms race, money matters. Legacy matters more. The Dodgers sell rings. Cohen sells belief.

If October delivers Mets vs. Dodgers, it won’t just be payroll vs. payroll. It will be ego vs. ego — and one former closer standing in the middle of it all.

With their final bench spot still in a bit of flux, the Mets made another addition to their very large group of players in camp, signing veteran Mike Tauchman to a minor league deal, according to Will Sammon of The Athletic. Tauchman, despite being on a minor league contract, will have a very open opportunity to make the team with a strong camp.

Tauchman, now 35 years old, has been around, as one could easily surmise. Originally drafted by the Colorado Rockies in tenth round way back in 2013, Tauchman worked his way up with a very strong minor league career until making his Major League debut with the Rockies in 2017. He spent the 2018 season shuttled between the Rockies and Triple-A Albuquerque, never finding his footing as a regular major league player.

That changed for him prior to the 2019 season, when he was traded to the Yankees and immediately became a strong contributor for them, hitting .277/.361/.504 (128 wRC+), earning 3.0 fWAR in just 89 games.

2020 and 2021 were not as kind to Tauchman, as a shoulder injury hampered him in 2020. He hit just .242/.342/.305 (79 wRC+) in the COVID-shortened campaign. 2021 was even tougher on him, hitting .181/.284/.283 (63 wRC+) between the Yankees and Giants.

In 2022, he took his talents to South Korea, playing for the Hanwha Eagles. He was excellent in Korea, hitting .289/.366/.430, earning himself a shot in MLB again, this time with his home state Chicago Cubs. He’s spent the last three years in Chicago, two with the Cubs (2023 and 2024), and one with the White Sox (2025), before hitting free agency this winter. He was remarkably consistent in those three seasons, earning a 108, 110 and 115 wRC+ in 108, 109, and 93 games respectively. He also grades out as bang average defensively per Outs Above Average, though he is more of a corner outfielder than center fielder nowadays.

Tauchman, being a solid-but-unspectacular Major League contributor will do wonders for the Mets bench, should he make the team. Recent signing MJ Melendez still has a minor league option, so they can afford to keep both in the organization if Tauchman hits the ground running. His ability to help in right field should Carson Benge struggle, and give Carlos Mendoza another option at DH should Brett Baty be in the field, makes his roster fit easy to envision. On top of that, Luis Robert Jr. has had his fair share of injury struggles in his career, and while Tauchman is not much of a center fielder anymore, he can provide cover in right should Benge have to shift over in case of an injury.