The Yankees announced his arrival at the George M. Steinbrenner Field for spring training with a simple but attention-grabbing post on social media, showing a series of photos of the two-time American League Most Valuable Player getting down to work.

It was a soft, but meaningful salvo. When Juan Soto recently declared the New York Mets stood a better chance of claiming the World Series than the New York Yankees, Aaron Judge responded with a characteristic grace but made his viewpoint clear. “He can say what he wants, “Mr. Judge said. “I definitely disagree with him.”