TAMPA, Fla. — Aaron Judge fretted like many Yankees fans as big-name free agents kept signing elsewhere.

“It was brutal,” the New York captain said Monday after the team’s first full-squad workout. “Early on it was pretty tough to watch. I’m like, ‘Man, we’re the New York Yankees. Let’s go out there and get the right people.'”

New York, seeking its first title since 2009, retained center fielder Trent Grisham early in the offseason but didn’t make bigger moves until late.

“Let’s sign these guys right now and start adding more pieces because I’m seeing other teams around the league get better,” Judge said. “They’re making trades. They’re signing big prospects or big players. And we’re sitting there for a while kind of making smaller moves.”

Asked whether he made his thoughts known to the Yankees, Judge flashed a toothy grin and said: “Yeah, oh, yeah.”

“It was frustrating, but I think we’re right where we need to be,” he said.

Judge spoke at length about a number of topics Monday, including: the lack of a World Series title last year despite winning his third AL MVP award; homering and striking out against 22-year-old flamethrower Carlos Lagrange during Monday’s workout; captaining the U.S. in the upcoming World Baseball Classic; and an elbow injury that never fully healed last year.

Judge missed 10 games between July 25 and Aug. 5 because of a flexor strain in his right elbow suffered while making a throw home from right field at Toronto on July 22. He didn’t return to the outfield until Sept. 5 and he threw gingerly at 67.9 mph. Judge gained arm strength during the rest of the season but didn’t get to 100 percent.

“I’ve never dealt with any elbow stuff, so I was definitely concerned,” he said.

Judge wasn’t sure until after the postseason that he would avoid surgery.

“They ran all the checks again and did all the tests and they said, ‘You’re good to go,'” he said. “And I said, ‘All right, when can we start throwing?’ So it was good. It was great. It was great to hear those words so that now I can go into the offseason and just prepare the way I need to be in the best shape to start the year.”

He said his elbow is at full strength.

“Throwing to bases a couple of times already, so no worries,” he said. “Just excited to get back out there and just have the confidence, especially — that was the toughest thing for me last year, was the pitcher’s working his butt off and the guys around me were working their butt off and then the ball was hit to me and I had no shot.”

Judge, who turns 34 in April, won his third AL MVP in four years after becoming just the fourth player in major league history to hit 50 homers four times (Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa). He won his first AL batting title, hitting a big-league-best .331 with 53 homers, 114 RBIs, an AL-high 124 walks and a major-league-leading 1.144 OPS. In the playoffs, he went 13-for-36 with one homer, seven RBIs and a 1.273 OPS.

Judge appeared to clear Steinbrenner Field in left on a 99.3 mph from Lagrange.

“Was so far,” Lagrange said in amazement.

Judge later struck out on a 102.6 mph fastball from the 6-foot-7 right-hander, praising “his personality and presence.”

“He’s impressive. I’ve seen a lot of videos, I’ve heard a lot of stories about him over the years,” Judge said. “He came right after us and that’s what you need if you’re going to play in the Bronx, you’re going to play in New York. You got to have that demeanor, that it doesn’t matter who’s in front of you.”

Lagrange was promoted to Double-A Somerset last June and went 7-6 with a 3.22 ERA in 15 starts and one relief appearance, striking out 104 and walking 50 in 78⅓ innings. He has been working to improve his control.

“He’s done a lot of the little things behind the scenes where he’s cleaned up his work and controlling the running game,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s shown to be a leader. Really love his makeup on top of obviously what is a really big arm.”

A seven-time All-Star, Judge is starting his 11th major league season.

“It’s just been really fun to not only witness the great things he’s done on the field,” Boone said, “but to witness him just grow as a player, as a man, as leader, as the captain, as a father. He’s just really revered by everyone that walks through that room, and that’s very real. And to have your superstar player, a face of the sport, be somebody that is so approachable — I heard one of our players talk about: ‘He makes you feel like you’re the most important person in the room.’ He’s got that quality about him that really resonates with our guys.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.