It's a Four Team Race to sign Aaron Judge
At the very beginning of the 2022 season Aaron Judge told the Brian Cashman and the Yankees to FGY. Take your 213.5mm dollar extension and shove it . BALLS. Brass Balls.
Judge chose to bet on himself and that bet is about to pay off. The seven year extension would have paid Judge close to 30 million a year. So who on earth could afford to pay him more? Not many teams. And even fewer who would be willing to. Judge just turned 30 and will undoubtedly have a hard time living up to the back end of this deal.
The Red Sox
Let's get the Red Sox talk out of the way right here. It’s not happening. They have their own cross to bear. Pay Xander You Dopes tee shirts dot Boston and Red Sox nation like fall foliage. I can't see Bloom going all in on Judge when Bogarts contract may be the difference between a full or empty Fenway come March 30th. This is the man who traded Mookie Bets away because he feared spending north of 300 mill. The sox have too many holes to fill.
My three favorites to land Judge
The San Francisco Giants
Judge is from Sacramento and played college ball at Fresno State. You can take the man out of cali but you can't take cali out of the man. The Giants are in deep need of some Star Power Joc Pederson, Brandon Belt, Shelby Miller, and José Álvarez are all on the market. Carlos randon has also opted out of his contract. The splash this would make would also lure others to re up or come in. And get Pete Putila some serius street cred in the Bay.
The LA Dodgers
Okay we can skip the california connection we just went over all that. Think the dodgers are out of money? Think again. They print it and spend it like they know there is always more coming. Add in Trea Turner and David Price coming off their books and you can start to see some extra cabbage to toss at Judge’s feet. If they don't tender Cody Belinger ? That's a lot of runs , home runs and RBI to reproduce. And the Dodgers don't do that in the aggregate.
The NY Mets
Wouldn't it be so Steve Cohen to swoop in and take Judge away from the Yanks ? I love this idea and I bet Steve does too. Reports are out there that Mets GM Billy Eppler inked Edwin Diaz to a five year 102 million dollar deal already. Yes they have to worry about locking up ACE Jacob deGrom after he opted out but Cohens pockets are so deep they reach the earth's core.
The NY Yankees
Could Cashman actually let Judge walk after he replaced Marris in the record books ? I think Brain would be public enemy number one in more than just the Boogie Down Bronx. If he lets Judge walk he may not be able to show his face at Yankee stadium or the tri-state area for a very long time. I understand Hal Steinbrenner isn't his dad ( honestly he couldn’t give a hang as long as the money pours in ) but losing Judge could be a PR hit that echoes for decades. And I'm betting the home Grown Judge stays in pinstripes. But theres always the Savanna Bananas