 Aaron, the fan base is pretty riled up at the end of the season of the sweep to the Ashros. In your early discussions with Cash or anyone around here, what's the feeling of what might need the change going into next year? Well, I think there's always constantly change. And that doesn't change when or lose. Obviously, we want to be the last team standing. That's what we're working towards. And it's this time of year when there's that ultimate disappointment. And it's a rough time because going back to from now forward, I mean, we've already begun preparations moving forward into next year. And you realize all that goes into that and all the many people that are involved in trying to get us to be the best we can be. And then you go to spring training and you start out on this desire to be a champion. And ultimately, the ending of that is always cruel. So it sucks this time of year to watch two other teams playing because you want to be there. And you feel like you're close. And you know what people have poured into this. As far as change, I mean, I think it's just continuing to evolve. And inevitably, with that comes change. There's always going to be roster turnover. And for us, here with the Yankees, we're always searching for as perfect a team as we can get, as perfect a roster as you can get. There's always challenges with that, whether it becomes people coming up through the farm system, trades, free agency, I don't think anything changes from there. I mean, we're constantly looking to where can we get better, whether that's baseball operations on the field, coaching, player development. I mean, we're relentless in that pursuit. And had we still been standing in the World Series, that doesn't change. We're trying to be the best team we can be each and every year. And it was a relatively big story when Hal spoke down in Tampa and made it a point to say, your job is safe. Did you, were there any concerns on your end about that? Were you wondering about your job status? And was there any thoughts on your end about that? No, I mean, I signed a contract last year. So my focus remains the same. And that's to be one of the leaders of this team that, again, is I came back to do this and got into this for a lot of reasons. The competition to compete at the highest level, the camaraderie, you feel being a part of an organization, being a part of a team, being in the trenches, being in the dugout, the lives you have the potential to impact, the relationships you're able to forge. But ultimately, I want to win a championship. And there's no, I don't think, better place to come to try and realize that. Because that is the mindset, the focus each and every year. And I'm grateful to be a part of that. But as far as the job security and all that, I've never worried about that ever. And the reality is, last year I signed an extension. And so my focus is on putting my steps forward to what's in front of me, what's next for us as an organization. Brian, to the right. Aaron, with Aaron, Judge, how did you leave things personally with him after game four? Did it feel like a goodbye or a goodbye for now? What do you kind of think? Yeah, I hope not. Look, we had a nice conversation in my office at the end of the night. I think most of you know how I feel about him, how much appreciation I have for our relationship and how it's grown over the years. So I mean, all I'll say is that, of course, I hope he's back and a Yankee for forever. And I can't think of a better guy that you'd want to be leading your team and leading your organization. And hopefully, that all works out. But my conversations with him now are just communicating with him through the winter and hoping that it works out. But obviously, that's above me, and that's got to happen over time here. Chris, to the left. Hey, Aaron, what do you view as the team's top priority this offseason to improve and close that gap with Houston? Well, I mean, look, I mean, that's probably, you know, I know cash is coming in next. And certainly, I'm always a part of those conversations and thing. And you're trying to improve. So the offseason takes you a lot of different places. I mean, there's obvious things. You say, let's get this guy. Let's get this guy. Let's make this move. But a lot of things have to line up and cooperate for that. So you've got to be, I think, you've got to be agile. And you've got to have the ability to, because you're not going to get everything you want or have every move happen to line up perfectly. So you've got to have a lot of plans in place, you know, that if this happens, then we've got to pivot in this direction. So bottom line is we're a really good team. We've been knocking on that door now for a long time. We haven't punched through. I certainly understand the frustration of that with everyone. We all feel that as much as everyone, like that's, again, that's why I came back to do this. I want to hoist that trophy with these guys. And the reality is we are close. And we have a team that is in that conversation, realistically, in that conversation. There's a lot of things that play out over the course of the year. We're missing, obviously, some key people at a key time of the year. But there's always going to be turnover on the roster that force you to go in a different direction. As far as what it is specifically, bottom line is we got to get a little bit better. We got beat by a better team in the American League Championship Series. They've kind of set the mark right now. And we got to find a way to keep getting a little bit better. And that's always the focus going into the off season. And then the season plays out. And so many factors come in that change that equation, make it easier, make it harder. But I can tell you we're letting those in our pursuit to try and chase that. Dan, to the right. Have you made any decisions about your coaching staff for next year? No, I mean, that's obviously a number of guys will be back that are under contract. A few guys are up. So we're working kind of through those situations. But I don't have any news on that front right now. And any news on DJ or any of the other injured guys with surgeries or anything? DJ, we're still unknown on the surgical part of it. That's something that's in front of DJ right now. And again, as these specialists kind of wheel through, what is the best course action? Is it surgery? Is it ultimately surgery? Is it other treatments leading into that? We're not quite at that point yet. So I don't have an answer there for you. Laura? It seems just looking at this season that the expanded playoffs kind of led an extra layer of improbability. Does that make you reevaluate how you manage over 162 during the season? No, I don't think so. Look, ultimately, you're trying to put yourself in the best position. And that's being the best team you can be for us, trying to win a division and hopefully set yourself up. But then, again, the length and the grind of the season, ultimately, sometimes put your team in different spots, whether it's the start of the year, the middle of the year, the end of the year, circumstances happen, injuries happen, situations come up that alter the equation a little bit. Ultimately, you're trying to be the best team you can be, especially towards the end of the year and heading into the playoffs. And you try and put your best foot forward. But as far as changing how we go about the 162, I don't think so. And to what extent, if at all, is Stanton playing through something with that leg or Achilles all through the second half and into the postseason? And was he limited? And does he have to do anything to deal with that now that season's over? Yeah, I think he was playing through something. I think it was not significant enough, obviously, to keep him out. And obviously, I think we started to see him the final week and into the playoffs really start to look the part and look like Big G all the way to the point that he could go out and play the outfield a little bit. But I do think he was compromised a little bit in playing through things. Again, nothing that I felt like where he was in jeopardy or obviously not that he couldn't perform. But I think some of the struggles he went through to his credit in August when he did come back in August in the early parts of September, middle of September, I think was him in his way like figuring out how to perform at a high level a little bit banged up. And I think he did that. And respect how he went about it, respect his process through it because he knew he had to take some lumps along the way. And he did down the stretch. And then you saw him start to really right the ship towards the end. And I think that was him learning how to play at a high level with it. And I think he got to that point. You still like him in the outfield a couple days a week next year? Yeah, that's my hope. I do. Again, I maintain I think it's something that at its best helps keep him a little healthier, keep him a little bit more athletic throughout the course of the year. Now, obviously, you've got to be smart about that. I think the first time he got hurt, it was a DH game where he wasn't even on the field. It was underneath. He was getting ready for an at bat. But I do think him being able to play the outfield not only serves us well, obviously, and giving us some flexibility from time to time. But I think it serves him well. Obviously, you just got to be smart and pick your spots with it. So we need you to have a hand up. Aaron, whether it's during the course of the season or now, a lot of things that we seem to ask you about are basically about the outcomes and the results. Are you comfortable with the processes that get you there? Are there any changes that need to be made along those lines? Yeah, I am comfortable with our process, with my process. Of course, and again, this goes back to when you win ultimately, when you fall short, even on a smaller level, like during the season, you win a game, you lose a game, you get a result. You're constantly trying to evaluate that and trying to be better at it and trying to grow at it. And I think I've done that. And I think we've done that. But that never stops. But I do feel really good about our process and my process. And I think we're a very well-run and buttoned-up organization that is very prepared at what we do. It would seem that as many times you've had to go through the Astros, you likely may have to try to do that again next year. When you're watching them, are there specific things that they do better than you? That you say, we need to be maybe not more like them, but this is what we need to do better. That's what we need to do better because that's what they do. Well, I think every year is a little bit different. Looking at this year's Astros team, I think it's as deep a pitching as they've had. And it's as healthy and deep a pitching staff heading into the postseason. So they were even different facing them a little bit this year. In other years, they've been even more offensive. But this year, I think, and again, every year's a little bit different, and we haven't been able to beat them. I said, we need to slay that dragon. We haven't done it yet, and that hurts. And it's also a motivating factor to try and continue to get better and work. But I look at the Astros team this year, and you look at whether it's their four starters that they're rolling out there, and then the depth and health of their bullpen right now. That's where they're at, I feel like, at their best right now. And then having some obviously great positional players sprinkled in there. But this Astros version is a little bit different than some of the teams they've had in the past. Where am I? Brendan. Donaldson's track record speaks for itself. But at some point, mid-30s, the offensive production tends to slow. Did age catch up to him this year? I don't know. Look, age always is a factor. I think you look at JD, and I was blown away at how good he played third. And you could make a case that the age didn't show up there. I knew we were getting a good defensive third baseman. I didn't know we were getting that good a one. And again, I think his offensive season, again, coming out of the lockout, coming over to a new team, right at the start of spring training, you didn't really have that time to build. And then I just felt like he never got on track and got on that really extended hot street, where he built momentum, and now we're rolling. Again, I felt like all year it was like, man, he'd get it going there for a couple of days and then maybe take a step back. And I think part of that was just one of those years where it was hard for him to get that consistency all the time. Tough to say exactly if that's age-related or just one of those seasons where you can have a little bit of a down year by your standard. And the game's hard. And the game's hard to navigate on the fly and get on those really good runs. I still think he has a lot in there. That's kind of where I was going with this. He's as focused on hitting and offense as anybody. Are your guys' numbers behind the scenes showing you player in decline? Right. No, I think he was better than what he showed this year. And we feel that way. Look, it's not 2015. I think that's the year he won the MVP. Obviously, there's some age there. But I would say physically, I still feel like he has a lot in there on the offensive side to still be really productive. John, to the right. So much of a strength early in the season, obviously, was health, but also just the ability to plug and play guys in a lot of different places. When you get to October, how difficult do you think it is for the players, but also for you not to have easy answers to the question of who's your shortstop or what does your lineup look like? Does that create an extra challenge? That's not ideal. I mean, that's, again, I think you referenced the first half. And that was. We had that, by and large, really good health, the consistency. And we were unfortunately having to try some things out on the fly a little bit in the postseason. And that's not always ideal. But it's also necessary at times. I think part of it and some of the things helped us get through a series in the postseason. But obviously, you want to just roll in with what got you there and why you're there. And now let's go find out against the other best. Christian and Matthew. You mentioned on a few occasions throughout the season that internal metrics painted Isaiah as one of the best defensive shortstops in the league. Yeah. As an organization, what exactly goes into measuring the quality of an infield defender? I mean, range, turning plays and outs, transfers. I mean, all of it. We're evaluating every play that's made, not made, whether it's an error, whether it's a did he get to a ball? Didn't he get to the ball? How does that match up? And on the balance of the season, it was very good. I know there are some frustrations with the error that he would have on occasion and where I felt like I had to do something within the lineup because I felt like it was something that came into play a little bit in one of the series. But on the whole, I feel like he was by and large excellent defensively and in the top part of the league of shortstops. And so you're weighing everything. It ultimately comes down to trying to make plays. And how many plays does he make compared to his peers on balls that we're measuring? Range, transfers, I don't know how to answer it without pulling you aside and showing you all that goes into it. But essentially, it's a fairly sophisticated look at how many plays is he making compared to other shortstops. Matthew. And when you look at the postseason every year, I don't think luck is the right word. But there's always an element of some team just getting hot at the right time. And I think if you look at this year's Phillies, most people would argue that you guys were a better team than them this year. So I guess my question is how do you ensure or try to create the feeling of we're playing our best ball right now? How do you become that sort of good vibes team in October for lack of a better term? When? Look, I mean, there is part of that that's it is. It's a tournament of the league's best teams. So you try and, again, construct a roster going into a season and on the fly during a season. You obviously have the trade deadline. No longer do you have the waiver deadline, which that pencils down at July 31. That's your team moving forward and you can't really, especially as things pop up, injury situation. So it's hard to get it exactly right because there's always the unknown that can come up, especially in those final two plus months of the year. But you're trying to just build yourself as best you can, the best team. Try and coach them up and prepare as best you can to be in a best situation to put the odds more in your favor. And that's the best I can say it to you is we're trying to be as our absolute best going into a postseason. Sometimes you're in a better situation come October than others, but you always have a chance once you get in. Take one or two more. Doesn't matter. Aaron, how do you view shortstop and from what you saw from Paraza in the month that he was up, is he ready to be here starting by opening day next year? Well, I think Oswald had another strong season in AAA, essentially having a full year there and earned and put himself in a position to get a September call up essentially. I was really impressed with what I saw from him, just make up wise, preparation wise, what he was able to handle being thrown into some different situations that for anyone, let alone a rookie, wouldn't have always been easy. And I always felt like he was up to it and handled it. So he certainly put himself in a really good position heading into the winter coming off another strong season. He's very young. But I would say, obviously, we were very aware of him going into this year as a top prospect and being on the roster for the first time. I think he only helped himself moving forward now. I think he had himself a strong year and put himself in a good situation heading into the off season and will certainly be in that competition mix heading into spring training. But certainly excited about the season he's had. And I just came away really impressed with being around him now a little bit and seeing him go about things and seeing how he handled. And I feel like hopefully really benefited from being up here and in this environment, not only for September, but on into the playoffs as well. We'll take Nate and Sweeney and we'll get Brian and Kashman. Aaron Jose Trevino is named a Gold Glover this week. Did he exceed your expectations this season? And what do you think were some of the underlying reasons that allowed him to unlock his potential here in New York? I would say yes, he's surprised. I think at worst we knew we were getting a really good defensive catcher. And obviously, we traded Gary at the start of spring training and brought in Ben, but then he was hurt. We knew he had to fortify the catching position. So to be able to get him at the end of spring training, we knew we were at least getting a quality backup catcher or somebody that we felt good about. But yeah, he blew away expectations. First of all, just the offensive side of things becoming an all-star, the amount of big hits he got for us. I think he too was banged up a little bit down the stretch, probably hurt his offense a little bit, so it fell off a little bit there at the end. But he blew us away offensively just with the impact he had on our team. But then you go to the defensive side. And yes, we knew we were getting a good defensive catcher. I don't think knew we were getting this impactful of a person. And he's obviously great at the position. He's so at home at the position. He takes charge at the position. He leads from the position. He's really prepared. He's a rat. He loves the game and loves to prepare and loves to study and loves to find where we can have an edge. And then he was just beloved in the room and in a way became very much one of the leaders in the room. And we're really, really lucky to have him come here and be an integral part of our team. One more, Sweeney. If I could follow up on Kynur-Fileffa and Parazza. In the middle of the summer, like July, August, right around the trade deadline, Kynur-Fileffa was struggling defensively. He even went to you guys and asked for extra help in the field. He was quoted as saying, this is the worst defense I've ever played. I would quibble with that, though. I would quibble with he was really struggling. That's who he is. He's accountable. He's tough. He expects a lot of himself. That's who he is. So that's part of him saying that. Because his bar is up here. Of this is who I should be defensively. The reality is he was having a really good defensive year. He had some struggles along the way, or a bad air that seemingly the next play would highlight the air because we gave up a run or whatever. But he always bounced back from that. But that's who he is in being really accountable. So maybe that's the answer to this part. Parazza was never viewed, throughout the organization, asking the questions. He was never viewed as ready to take this place at that point. Even when he got called up in September, played sparingly. But as you alluded to, you got forced into a situation in October. And you've been very impressed with Parazza. Is there something he wasn't doing in July and August that all of a sudden he got better at? No. I just think you were still talking about a very young player that, yeah, had a very strong season in AAA. But it wasn't like the world on fire. And I think player development, there are still things that he was getting better at and checking boxes at. And I think he's 21 years old. And trust me, we love his future and love what he's going to be. And as I said, getting to be around him and see him, I came away even more impressed. But he was still getting to that point as the season was unfolding in his first full trip. Were there specific things or was it a consistency? Yeah, I think it was just continuing to get a little bit better in every aspect of the game. He's going to be a really good player. That's what I came out of this season. But I also think his development this year was really important to continue to develop. And I think he continued to improve at the AAA level as the season unfolded as well.