Aaron Judge Is Going Nowhere!
Aaron Judge just got a Brinks truck! The Yankees slugger is going nowhere as him and New York have reportedly agreed to a mammoth 9-year, $360 million deal. Quite an upgrade from seven years and $210 milllion, wouldn’t you say? I’m sure Jon Heyman and the Giants are kicking themselves as well. Jon Morosi was the first to report the blockbuster of Judge staying:
Make no mistake, Judge deserved his money. He put together one of the finest offensive seasons in recent MLB history. As I previously said, the Yankees were also determined to keep him in pinstripes for his career. They have successfully fended off the Giants and other suitors. You can now have your doubts about the deal. Will Judge ever top his legendary 2022 season? What are Steinbrenner and recently-renewed Brian Cashman going to do to keep upgrading this team? Can the Yankees surpass the Astros? Alright, maybe it’s a little too early to ask all of that. But Yankees fans can breathe. The greatest Yankee since Derek Jeter is going nowhere.
Snakes In The Grass
Once again, the NL West was involved in yet another star player. I reported yesterdaty that the San Diego Padres fell short for free agent superstar Trea Turner. Once again, both them and the San Francisco Giants missed out on this year’s prize of free agency. Even more intriguing was that reports have supposedly held up that San Fran would not be outbid. Morosi highlighted Judge’s ultimate desire to remain in pinstripes:
It is most definitely a hard pill to swallow for the Giants. They were basically at the finish line, and had Jon Heyman even jumping the gun thinking it was over. While Mitch Haniger is a good signing, the centerpiece would only ever be #99. The good news is that they can reinvest the crazy amount of dollars they had lined up for Judge elsewhere if they really want to catch up to the Dodgers and Padres. The bad news is they missed out on one of baseball’s best players.
As I previously pondered, just bringing back Judge cannot be enough. Yes, Tommy Kahnle is a pleasant surprise for their bullpen. But the bottom line is they need more. Could it be former Giant Carlos Rodon? One of the remaining shortstops? Blasting Aaron Hicks and Josh Donaldson into the moon? Regardless, the Yankees need to pivot. Good for them, it really did turn out to be New York or Nowhere.
Step 1 of their offseason was always to sign Judge. Mission complete. Now, if Judge wants a serious squad to contend with, the Yankees gotta bring out the checkbook. (PS, my conspiracy theory and Christmas wish was that they would go for Shohei Ohtani. I need to realize that it’s not happening but that’s just my two cents.)
