Star right fielder and league MVP Aaron Judge has re-signed with the New York Yankees for a massive 9yr/$360-million-dollar contract that will make him a Yankee for life.
There was a lot of nervous Yankee fans including myself last night when Jon Heyman reported that Judge was signing with the Giants. He quickly realized his mistake and tweeted out that he had jumped the gun.
It was mental torture for Yankee fans. The report then came out that all signs pointed to the Giants and although the Yankees were still in, the Giants were most likely.
There were conflicting reports about Judge traveling to San Diego to meet with teams. The Yankees reported that they had no confirmation of this which also didn’t look good for the Yanks chances.
Judge did in fact travel to San Diego where he met with the San Diego padres (out of nowhere) who reportedly offered him a 10yr/$400 million dollar deal. I can’t even begin to think about a lineup where the top four hitters are Tatis, Judge, Soto, and Machado. It wouldn’t be fair.
The Giants at that time still had the 9yr/$360-million-dollar contract on the table as well. I’m not sure if Judge’s camp wanted that offer to be known to the public so the Yankees knew what they had to match or not. The Yankees heard it loud and clear and came back with the same exact offer for Judge.
Judge ultimately made the decision that playing in the pinstripes and playing in New York meant more to him than the money. He still got paid about $140 million more than what the Yankees offered him before last year because he bet on himself but being a Yankee for life meant something to him.
It means something to us fans too. Yes, he’s a top five player in baseball, but he’s also the most likable athlete in sports. This is the new Jeter for Yankee fans. He’s a homegrown player who will deservedly be the next captain of the Yankees.
I can’t believe it came this far and this close to Judge not being a Yankee, but they got it done. Step one of the offseason is complete. The Yankees can’t think this is the only thing they need to do though. This doesn’t make them any better than last year. They need to make more moves to be able to compete with the Houston Astros.
Go sign Rodon. Re-sign Benintendi or sign Masataka Yoshida from Japan.
If they can do that and somehow dump Donaldson & Hicks it will be a perfect off-season for the Yanks but there is still a ton of work that needs to be done.
Cam's Corner 