Fans are anxiously waiting to see what their favorite free agents do.
And two off the most-talked about potential negotiations are about New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom.
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Here are two predictions concerning each athlete, from The Athletic’s Jim Bowden. As for deGrom, he says that the Atlanta Braves will snag him on a two-year, $90 million deal with an opt-out after the first year. As for Judge, he predicts the slugger will return to the Yankees for an eight-year, $330 million contract.
DeGrom opted out of his contract following the World Series. He has reportedly expressed interest to the Texas Rangers and had also been linked to the Braves.
The Mets seem to be on his list, though. Last Tuesday, Mets general manager Billy Eppler updated contract talks with deGrom. Per MLB.com:
“I think there’s a good deal of interest there on his part,” Eppler said. “That was articulated a number of times throughout the season and reiterated in our most recent conversation.” … Asked specifically to gauge the chance of a reunion, Eppler replied that “it’s hard to handicap things like that,” before adding that deGrom’s interest “was articulated a number of times through the season and reiterated in our most recent conversation.”
As for Judge, the slugging outfielder rejected a seven-year, $213.5 million contract from the Yankees before this season. He went on to set a new American League record with 62 home runs while chasing the Triple Crown, making him the favorite for AL MVP.
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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.”
Judge has also been linked to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Mets.
MORE MLB:
– Yankees’ Brian Cashman signals plan for Aaron Hicks
– Cardinals columnist says Mets free agent makes sense in St. Louis
– AL East rival unlikely to sign Yankees’ Aaron Judge, MLB insider says
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Bridget Hyland may be reached at [email protected].