So far, so good for the New York Yankees.
General manager Brian Cashman crossed one thing off his offseason to-do list this week by re-signing first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who got a deal which can max out at three years and $51 million.
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Up next for the Yankees front office figures to be addressing the future of outfielder Aaron Judge.
The 30-year-old rejected a seven-year, $213.5 million contract before Opening Day, then went out and had a walk season for the ages, setting a new American League record with 62 home runs while contending for the Triple Crown. Judge should find out Thursday he is this year’s AL MVP.
Judge figures to get plenty of attention on the open market, especially from his hometown San Francisco Giants, who have made it clear money is no object when it comes to trying to sign the slugger.
But the New York Post’s Joel Sherman looked into his crystal ball and said as of right now, all roads point towards the Bronx for Judge: “Rizzo’s signing, (Hal) Steinbrenner’s direct involvement that puts the bull’s-eye on the owner, the lack of anything but rumors about other teams.”
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Steinbrenner finally addressed the media this week, and made it clear he wants Judge to return. Per NJ Advance Media’s Brendan Kuty:
“We have plenty of ability to — and Aaron and I talked about this — to make this happen and still have money to make other things happen,” Steinbrenner said while talking at the Owners Meetings at MLB headquarters in midtown Manhattan on Tuesday. “My budget for Judge is going to be what I feel we can do,” he said. “It’s not limitless, obviously. But am I going to make moves before we’re able to — in my opinion, we’re going to be able to sign Aaron. That’s not going to stop me from signing other people.”
But will Steinbrenner match the Giants dollar for dollar? And if not, is being the next Yankees captain worth Judge leaving millions on the table?
MORE MLB:
– Potential Yankees, Mets free-agent target is looking for a Max Scherzer deal
– MLB insider predicts Yankees’ Brian Cashman’s ‘big move’ if Aaron Judge leaves
– Yankees’ Aaron Judge backup plan includes ‘several surprising’ free agents | Mets slugger contacted
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Mike Rosenstein may be reached at [email protected].