5 teams who have a better hitting duo than Yankees' Aaron Judge & Cody Bellinger
The New York Yankees traded for Cody Bellinger. Based on the current roster construction, he seems likely to pair with Aaron Judge as the top offensive duo in the lineup. It's a solid pairing, but how does it stack up against the best two hitters from other teams?
5 duos who can outdo Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger
5) San Diego Padres
The Padres have a few possible combinations that make for a better duo than the Yankees. Fernando Tatis Jr. and either Manny Machado or Jackson Merrill would make a combination that could rival the Yankees. That is largely due to the balance they provide, since they're not on Judge's level or even close to it.
With Bellinger essentially driving the mean down for New York, San Diego gets closer in this comparison simply by not having someone as offensively limited as the former Chicago Cubs star.
4) Atlanta Braves
When Ronald Acuna Jr. returns healthy, he will form a solid offensive duo with Marcell Ozuna, who was the Braves' best hitter last year. He was a borderline MVP candidate last year, which is more than Cody Bellinger can say.
Pairing him with a top-shelf player like Acuna, who won the MVP the last time he was healthy for a year, gives them a dominant duo that Judge and Bellinger don't quite match up to.
3) Philadelphia Phillies
Bryce Harper is one of baseball's best hitters. Trea Turner or Kyle Schwarber could pair with him to create one of the sport's best offensive duos, and they create one that's certainly a stronger duo than Judge and Bellinger.
With the exception of Bellinger, all the players are over 30 years old, so they could begin declining sometime soon. Nevertheless, right now, the Phillies boast a couple of duos that's better than the Yankees.
2) New York Mets
Thanks to Juan Soto spurning the Yankees, the Mets now have a stronger hitting duo. Neither Francisco Lindor nor Juan Soto is on Judge's level offensively, but Soto isn't terribly far behind. Lindor is a well-rounded player, but he's good at the plate.
They will likely form a new dynamic duo in New York for years to come, and they'll almost certainly outperform their crosstown rival duo no matter how good Aaron Judge performs in 2025.
1) Los Angeles Dodgers
The duo here doesn't matter because the Dodgers actually have three possible pairings that are arguably better than Judge and Bellinger. Take any two of Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts, and the combo will likely be better than the new Yankees duo.
None of those hitters is as good as Judge, but they're all better than Bellinger right now, and both Ohtani and Betts are close to Judge's level. The Dodgers just have lineup depth that no one else does.