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TAMPA — Aaron Judge has been outspoken in his criticism of the Astros in the wake of the sign-stealing scandal in 2017, when Houston beat the Yankees on its way to the World Series title.

Now, the Yankees seem to be collecting members of that team, from hiring Carlos Beltran — as well as Cameron Maybin — as an analyst for the YES Network to agreeing to a minor league deal with Marwin Gonzalez.

On Monday, Judge told The Post he has “no issues” with the Yankees bringing in any of the players from the tarnished team — but added the subject will likely come up between the two.

“I don’t think I need to have a conversation about [2017],’’ Judge said. “I’ve got plenty of things to focus on. It might come up, but I’m not too worried about it.”

Instead, Judge praised the infielder, who will compete for a backup spot in camp.

“I’m excited if he can help this team out,’’ Judge said. “I know he’s a great utility player. He’s been on some championship teams and had some good runs in Houston and with the Red Sox and got that deal with Minnesota. I think it’s good for us.”


  Marwin Gonzalez holds the Commissioner’s Trophy after the Astros win the World Series in 2017. AP Marwin Gonzalez holds the Commissioner’s Trophy after the Astros win the World Series in 2017. AP

General manager Brian Cashman said he didn’t consider Gonzalez’s past when he decided to bring him in to compete for a spot, nor did he talk to any current Yankees who were on that 2017 team to see what they thought of the idea.

“No, I just looked to see what was available [on the market] that makes sense in my world and if it has a chance to make us better, I’ll take a look at it.”

Gonzalez, who arrived in camp Monday and took batting practice, has had two straight subpar seasons and has never again approached the success he had with the Astros, when he had an OPS of .907 in 2017, by far the best of his career.


  Aaron Judge at Yankees spring training in Tampa on March 16, 2022. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post Aaron Judge at Yankees spring training in Tampa on March 16, 2022. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

While Beltran won’t be a teammate, he figures to be around as a part-time analyst for YES, which is traveling to road games this season for the first time since before COVID.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Beltran,’’ Judge said. “He helped me out a lot when he was here.”

While Judge didn’t make his debut with the Yankees until two weeks after Beltran was traded in the middle of the 2016 season, the two talked during previous spring trainings, kept in contact after Beltran left and reconnected when Beltran was an adviser to GM Brian Cashman in 2019.

“I love Beltran,’’ Judge said. “He’s meant a lot to my career.”

While time may have soothed some of Judge’s wounds, the right fielder was outspoken when news of the sign-stealing scandal broke after the 2019 season.

The following spring, Judge criticized Houston and their legacy.

“I just don’t think it holds any value with me,’’ Judge said two years ago of the 2017 title. “You cheated and you didn’t earn it. That’s how I feel: It wasn’t earned. It wasn’t earned the way of playing the game right and fighting to the end and knowing that we’re competing, We are competitors. The biggest thing about competition is laying it all out on the line, and whoever’s the better player, better person, comes out on top. And to know that another team had an advantage, that’s nothing that you can really guard against. I just don’t feel like that’s earned. That’s not earned.’’

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