Who’s going to get Aaron Judge?
According to the Boston Globe’s Chad Finn, it won’t be the Boston Red Sox.
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Before the season, the slugging outfielder rejected a seven-year, $213 million dollar offer from the New York Yankees in order to bet on himself and he is now looking at getting a deal for at least $300 million.
Per Finn:
I can’t imagine the Sox, with so many voids to fill, would go anywhere near that for a 30-year-old outfielder, even if he did just have the best non-Barry Bonds season we’ve ever seen. But the Sox should at least inquire, if for no other reason than to agitate the Yankees.
Judge, a Bay Area native, has been heavily linked to the Giants. And San Francisco is willing to pay the big bucks for him. Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said last week, “I think from a financial standpoint there’s nobody that would be out of our capability. And then it’ll just be a question of whether there’s mutual interest and how we put together the best possible team.”
But The Athletic’s Jim Bowden ranked contenders to take Judge out of New York, and despite much buzz about the San Francisco Giants, they aren’t the biggest threat to the Yankees. Bowden ranks the Yankees as the most likely team to secure the outfielder, followed by the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets before listing the Giants.
Bowden writes that the Dodgers and Mets have the resources to get Judge, and while the Giants do too, they don’t have a clear path to the postseason, and Judge will likely want to sign with a contender.
But will Judge end up re-signing and staying with his original club? Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner sat down for an interview with YES Networkwhich will air Monday at 7 pm Here’s a teaser of his conversation with Yankees reporter Meredith Marakovits:
“I have had more than one conversation with Aaron since the season ended. I’ll leave it at that. Very positive conversation.”
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Steinbrenner also reiterated the fact the Yankees want to re-sign Judge rather than watch him walk.
“I have made it clear to him that this is our wish. He means a lot to this organization and I’ve made it clear to him we’re going to do everything we can to make that happen.”
This season, Judge set a new American League record with 62 home runs while chasing the Triple Crown, making him the favorite for AL MVP.
MORE MLB:
– MLB columnist pitches Yankees-Cubs trade
– Mets chasing All-Star left-hander while pursuing trade with AL East contender
– MLB insider ranks Aaron Judge contenders: Giants aren’t Yankees’ top competition
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Bridget Hyland may be reached at [email protected].