New York Yankees

Having already secured a commitment from Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees may not be done making big moves this offseason.

Appearing on 95.7 The Game's Willard and Dibs, ESPN's Buster Olney said he's "definitely picking up a lot of vibes" the Yankees are "working on something big" when asked about the market for Carlos Correa.

On the other side, despite missing out on Judge, Olney noted the San Francisco Giants "haven't gotten too deeply" into talks with Correa about money.

Judge agreed to a nine-year, $360 million deal to remain with the Yankees on Wednesday, per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.

Even though the Yankees made other moves earlier in the offseason, most notably re-signing Anthony Rizzo, retaining Judge was always going to be their top priority.

There are still several flaws on the Yankees roster that need to be addressed before the start of next season. They ranked in the bottom half of Major League Baseball in weighted on-base average at shortstop and left field in 2022.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit .261/.314/.327 as New York's primary starting shortstop last season.

Signing Correa would be a massive upgrade at the position for the Bronx Bombers. The two-time All-Star has a .279/.357/.479 slash line in 888 career games.

It's interesting Olney would throw out the Yankees as a potential landing spot for Correa. Many players on their team, including Judge, were very critical of the Houston Astros and their players in the wake of the cheating scandal during the 2017 season.

"I just don't think it holds any value with me. You cheated and you didn't earn it," Judge told reporters in February 2020. "It wasn't earned the way of playing the game right and fighting to the end. The biggest thing about competition is laying it all out on the line, and whoever's the better player, better person, comes out on top. And to know that another team had an advantage—nothing that you can really guard against—I just don't feel like that's earned."

Rosenthal reported earlier this week the Los Angeles Dodgers won't pursue Correa, despite having a need at shortstop after losing Trea Turner, "in part out of concern that a sizable portion of their fanbase would not welcome the move."

The 2017 Astros defeated the Yankees in the American League Championship Series and Dodgers in the World Series.

In the wake of Judge re-signing with the Yankees, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported the "consensus" around MLB is the Giants were favorites to sign Correa.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post and MLB Network reported the Giants had an offer to Judge believed to be around $360 million.

If the Giants were willing to offer Judge that much money, there's no reason they can't shift it to Correa. There's an argument he would be a better fit than Judge because he's two years younger (28) and plays a more important defensive position.

The Giants have already fallen far behind the Dodgers and San Diego Padres in the NL West. They need to do something big to regain relevance in their own division and become a playoff contender in 2023.

Aaron Judge cashed in as a free agent by re-signing with the New York Yankees, but the reigning American League MVP had more on his mind this offseason than simply securing the most money possible.

Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Judge told all of the teams he met with before making a decision that he "didn't want to surrender his legacy over dollars, and all sides respected that."

Judge made Yankees fans sweat before agreeing to a nine-year, $360 million contract on Wednesday, per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.

According to SNY's Andy Martino, Yankees chairperson Hal Steinbrenner spoke with Judge on the phone after the team began to believe the San Diego Padres were offering at least $400 million and the San Francisco Giants "would get" to that number.

The Yankees were offering Judge $320 million over eight years before the call, but Judge told Steinbrenner a ninth year would get the deal done.

Judge played his free agency to perfection. He staged the video of himself arriving in San Francisco earlier in the offseason, presumably to increase the pressure on New York's front office.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, Judge flew to the winter meetings in San Diego "at the last minute" to make his decision between the Yankees, Padres and Giants.

It was assumed a reunion between Judge and the Yankees was going to be the final result of this entire scenario. He's spent his entire career with the organization, has led them to six consecutive playoff appearances and had a historic 2022 season.

The Yankees haven't often been a franchise that loses its best players, especially at the peak of their careers. They also had no way of immediately replacing his production in the lineup if he signed elsewhere.

Whatever the full motivation for Judge to re-sign with the Yankees, no one will care if he continues to be one of the best players in Major League Baseball. The 30-year-old has made the All-Star team four times in six full seasons since 2017.

The Yankees have made the American League Championship Series three times during that span, but they haven't advanced to the World Series since 2009.

A 99-win season and sixth straight playoff appearance is a successful season for most MLB franchises, and re-signing the reigning MVP is almost always a reason to celebrate, especially when he's the homegrown face of your franchise.

However, the New York Yankees aren't most franchises, and simply bringing back Aaron Judge—a move reported by MLB Network's Jon Morosi on Wednesday—to a flawed roster that was exposed in October is not going to cut it.

"I think they understand that the 13-year championship drought feels like about 130 years in Yankee land, and I think there's more to come," MLB insider Mark Feinsand said on MLB Network on Wednesday morning.

The last time the Yankees went at least 13 years without winning a ring were some of the leanest seasons in franchise history. They reached the playoffs just three times in 17 campaigns between titles in 1978 and 1996, and outside Don Mattingly, not much went right during that time.

When they finally came out the other side of that dry spell, they kicked off a bona fide dynasty, winning four rings in five years.

The question now: What do the Yankees need to do to set themselves up for similar success with Judge back in the fold?

---

1. They Need 1 More High-End Starting Pitcher

The high-end shortstop market has grabbed headlines this offseason, but starting pitching has been the fastest-moving market by far.

Here's a look at all the starting pitchers who earned a spot among the top 50 free agents at the start of the offseason, according to MLB Trade Rumors:

Carlos Rodón
Jacob deGrom
Justin Verlander
Koudai Senga
Chris Bassitt
Jameson Taillon
Taijuan Walker
Sean Manaea
Andrew Heaney
Noah Syndergaard
Nathan Eovaldi
Clayton Kershaw
José Quintana
Zach Eflin
Tyler Anderson
Ross Stripling
Michael Wacha
Corey Kluber
Drew Rucinski

Seeing all of those names already crossed off should tell you all you need to know about the sense of urgency with which the Yankees need to approach upgrading their starting rotation if they intend to do so via free agency.

The early reports are that they are aiming high and aggressively targeting Rodón:

Now that Judge has been secured, what’s next for the Yankees? They have definite interest in Rodon. They feel that Rodon has the mettle to succeed in NY. A tough, talented lefty at the Stadium would be a nice fit.

— JackCurryYES (@JackCurryYES) December 7, 2022

The great unknown of this year's market is right-hander Koudai Senga, who has been one of the Japanese League's top pitchers for several years. It's always a bit of a crapshoot projecting how a player's game will translate to the majors, but his 2022 numbers are tough to ignore. The 29-year-old had a 1.89 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 159 strikeouts in 148 innings in 2022. He won't be subject to the posting system, so he's free to sign anywhere this offseason.

Beyond those two, grizzled veteran Corey Kluber might be the best target. With his experience and track record of postseason success, there is little doubt he would be able to handle the pressures of pitching in Yankee Stadium—where he called home in 2021 and where he sports a 3.04 career ERA.

If free agency doesn't prove to be the answer, the Yankees could also turn their attention to the trade market.

The Milwaukee Brewers are one hypothetical trade partner, not because they are not expected to contend in 2023, but because it's unlikely they will be able to afford both Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff long term, as both will be free agents after 2024. However, the Brewers have already indicated they don't intend to move either starter, per USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

The more likely trade partners are the Miami Marlins, who have a wealth of young, controllable starting pitching and have indicated their willingness to listen to offers on anyone besides NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara, per the New York Post's Jon Heyman.

The Yankees' best target in terms of acquisition cost, likelihood of a deal getting done and expected production is Pablo López. The 26-year-old is controllable through the 2024 season, and he posted a 3.75 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 174 strikeouts in a career-high 180 innings in 2022 while serving as Miami's No. 2 starter.

The Marlins have reportedly shown interest in veteran third baseman Justin Turner in free agency, per the Miami Herald's Craig Mish, so perhaps they would have similar interest in Josh Donaldson if the Yankees were to absorb some of his salary.

How about this for a hypothetical deal:

• To NYY: RHP Pablo López
• To MIA: 3B Josh Donaldson, SS Oswald Peraza, RHP Yoendrys Gómez, C Josh Breaux, $11.75 million (to offset Donaldson's $21.75 million salary)

Peraza, 22, checked in No. 56 on our final Top 100 prospect list of the 2022 season. He hit .306/.404/.429 with three doubles and one home run in 57 plate appearances after making his MLB debut on Sept. 2, and he checks all the boxes to be an everyday middle infielder in the big leagues. It's a steep price to pay, but one the Yankees should seriously consider.

Plugging in either Rodón or López alongside Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, Luis Severino and a healthy Frankie Montas would give the Yankees one of the deepest starting rotations in baseball, with Domingo Germán as terrific depth in a swingman role.

That's not all that remains on the shopping list, though.

---

2. The Yankees Also Need an Outfielder

Pencil in Judge as the everyday right fielder and deadline pickup/postseason hero Harrison Bader as the starting center fielder, but the other spot in the Yankees outfield is still up for grabs.

Oft-injured veteran Aaron Hicks has hit .211 with an 83 OPS+ and 1.3 WAR in 162 games over the past two seasons, and while he's still owed $30.4 million over the next three years, counting on him to hold down an everyday spot is a recipe for disaster.

Rookie Oswaldo Cabrera saw some action in left field, even starting five games there during the playoffs, but he's probably more valuable in a super-utility role than he is tethered to an everyday spot in the outfield.

So who's left in free agency?

Brandon Nimmo is likely going to command north of $100 million, and whoever gives him that contract will be paying in part for his ability to man center field. With Bader on the roster, the Yankees would be wise to let someone else pay that premium.

Andrew Benintendi is a logical target after the Yankees acquired him as a rental at the deadline, but his age (28) and near-career year offensively in 2022 (124 OPS+) could drive his asking price beyond a range the Yankees are interested in paying.

The most appealing option in terms of dollars and cents might be a one-year deal with bounce-back candidate Michael Conforto. He spent the 2022 season in free-agency limbo after receiving a qualifying offer and then undergoing shoulder surgery. He has 30-homer power, but there will likely be some rust after a year on the sidelines.

An outside-the-box target to monitor is Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida, who was posted by Orix Buffaloes on Tuesday, per ESPN's Jeff Passan, and has 29 days left to sign with an MLB team.

The 29-year-old hit .336/.449/.559 with 28 doubles, 21 home runs and almost twice as many walks (82) as strikeouts (42) in his seventh professional season in Japan.

Of course, there is also the trade market, where one name stands out above the rest.

Pittsburgh Pirates star Bryan Reynolds will be talked about as a trade chip until he either signs a long-term deal or is in fact traded.

The 27-year-old has three years of club control remaining, which means the Yankees would almost certainly have to part with Anthony Volpe and more to pry him loose, but his 8.9 WAR the past two seasons ranks sixth among all outfielders.

Other potential trade targets include Ramón Laureano (OAK), Victor Robles (WAS) or someone from the Arizona Diamondbacks' long list of controllable outfielders that includes Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas, Jake McCarthy and Daulton Varsho.

Best guess: The Yankees sign Conforto to a one-year, $18 million deal to slightly exceed the $17.5 million contract the Chicago Cubs gave to fellow rebound candidate Cody Bellinger earlier this week. It's a low-risk, high-reward move that pairs well with the long-term commitment they just made to Judge.

---

Are They Really Only 2 Pieces Away?

The Yankees, like most teams, would benefit from adding a few more established relief arms, and a left-handed bench bat would also be nice considering Anthony Rizzo, Cabrera and Hicks are the only players on the projected roster who hit from the left side.

But all things considered, if they can cross top-tier starter and left fielder off their shopping list between now and Opening Day, they will have as complete a roster as any team in baseball heading into the 2023 season.

The winter meetings are winding to a close, but there's still a lot of offseason left.

Should he hit the open market after the 2023 season, Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani will be on the radar for just about every team that can afford to sign him, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

"I don't want to say he's going to the Dodgers next year because every team...listen, the Yankees are gonna be on him," Passan said Wednesday on The Pat McAfee Show. "Steve Cohen, the Mets owner, the Mets are gonna be in on him. The Cubs are gonna be in on him. The Pirates are not gonna be in. ... Yeah, Red Sox will be on him."

Ohtani is a truly generational two-way talent who followed up his 2021 Most Valuable Player season by being nearly just as good in 2022.

The 28-year-old had 34 home runs, 95 RBI and a .273/.356/.519 slash line at the plate. On the mound, he went 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA and 219 strikeouts in 166 innings. He was runner-up to Aaron Judge in the MVP voting and placed fourth on the Cy Young ballot.

If he reaches free agency, then every single team in MLB should at least make overtures his way. Of course, his price tag will limit that pool substantially because The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported in June he might eclipse Max Scherzer's record-setting $43.3 million average salary.

There's still the chance Ohtani doesn't reach free agency.

General manager Perry Minasian told reporters in November the Angels have every intention of keeping him on the roster by Opening Day, and this is the same franchise that signed Mike Trout to the biggest contract in MLB history (12 years, $426.5 million).

Team owner Arte Moreno's exploration of a sale presents an obvious variable. But if he does truly intend to sell the Angels within the next few years, then he won't be the one paying Ohtani for a majority of the deal. And you'd think having Ohtani on the roster is something a new owner would prefer rather than trading him or letting him walk as a free agent.

In the event Ohtani plays out his final year with the Angels and doesn't agree to an extension, it could set off a bidding war for the ages next winter.

You can practically hear the sigh of relief coming from New York, both from the Yankees themselves and perhaps even more so from their fans.

For against what like pretty good odds, Aaron Judge is coming back.

There were indeed signs aplenty throughout 2022 that the 30-year-old outfielder could leave the Bronx this winter. The most recent came Tuesday when the Yankees got a brief yet system-jolting scare from a report that Judge was headed to the San Francisco Giants.

But as Jon Morosi of MLB.com and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported, the American League MVP is sticking with the Yankees on a nine-year, $360 million contract.

All. Rise.

Aaron Judge, Yankees are reportedly in agreement on a 9-year deal, according to MLB Network Insider @jonmorosi. pic.twitter.com/5xxG6cmjGP

— MLB (@MLB) December 7, 2022

The guarantee makes Judge's deal the richest free-agent signing in MLB history, surpassing Bryce Harper's $330 million pact with the Philadelphia Phillies from 2019.

What happens next for Judge and the Yankees will be determined over the next nine years. For now, it ought to be good enough for anyone with so much as a passing interest in the franchise that such a dramatic chapter in its history has gotten a happy ending.

---

This Season Wasn't All a Feel-Good Story

It's amazing how, when broken down to its essentials, a story can look so different on paper than what everyone lived through in real time.

The Baseball Reference page for the Yankees' 2022 season is a good example. It shows that they won 99 games and went to the American League Championship Series, and that the 6'7", 282-pound Judge aided the cause with 62 home runs, 131 runs batted in, 133 runs scored, a 1.111 OPS and numerous other stats that made him easily deserving of his first MVP.

A person who looks at that page years from now could get the impression that the '22 season was nothing but good times for the Yankees, and especially for Judge. But us? In the here and now? Yeah, we have the context.

We know that the Yankees went into their '22 campaign on a wave of disappointment, starting with yet another playoff loss to the Boston Red Sox in October 2021 and continuing with a weirdly underwhelming offseason.

The Yankees might have redeemed themselves if they offered Judge, already a three-time All-Star and the 2017 AL Rookie of the Year, a contract extension to his liking before his self-imposed Opening Day deadline. Yet they did not, as he swatted down a final overture that would have paid him $213.5 million over seven years.

Low-balling Judge was merely one of the Yankees' questionable decisions. The other was going public with their terms, which Judge admitted being irked at to Sean Gregory of Time:

“We kind of said, Hey, let’s keep this between us. I was a little upset that the numbers came out. I understand it’s a negotiation tactic. Put pressure on me. Turn the fans against me, turn the media on me. That part of it I didn’t like.”

The Yankees' tactic seemed to work initially. Though Judge started the year in a funk, it's hard to imagine him hearing boos at Yankee Stadium if not for the lingering drama of his contract negotiations.

Aaron Judge says the boos he got toward the end of tonight's game is "nothing new" pic.twitter.com/lluGsfdujK

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 12, 2022

For a time, things got good. Very good. Judge put himself on pace for home run history and, in turn, elevated the Yankees to historic heights. Through July 8, he already had 30 home runs and the Yankees were off to a 61-23 start.

But while Judge eventually did break Roger Maris' 61-year-old AL home run record, the Yankees skidded to a 38-40 finish and were little more than a pushover in the playoffs. So much so that the boo birds were out at Yankee Stadium in the final two games of the Yankees' ALCS sweep at the hands of the Houston Astros, including for a slumping Judge once again.

In keeping with his usual demeanor, Judge himself took the playoff boos in stride. The general mood of the team, though, was dour. Per SNY's Andy Martino, having the home crowd turn hostile during the ALCS was an "unusually brutal experience" for multiple Yankees.

---

In Defense of Yankees Fans

Others have made this point better than we're prepared to, but Yankees fans really showed their butts in 2022.

In addition to the misguided boo birds, who can forget the ugly incident involving Myles Straw and the Cleveland Guardians? Or the treatment of Joey Gallo, who was feeling like, well, less than his best self at the end of his Yankee tenure?

There's only so much one can defend any of this, particularly knowing that bad apples are going to be bad apples and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Yet there also seemed to be another element at play in this behavior that smacked of frustration boiling over.

And that, at least, is understandable.

Though nobody can call the Yankees fans of today "long-suffering," there are at least two things they can justifiably gripe about. The first is that, while 30 straight seasons of winning records is all well and good, the club's 13-year World Series drought is not at all in keeping with a tradition that includes 40 pennants and 27 championships.

And thus, the second thing that Yankees fans can justifiably gripe about: The team hasn't been trying hard enough to live up to that tradition.

Consider the trajectory of the club's payrolls. The Yankees used to go into every season with the league's highest payroll. Save for the shortened 2020 campaign, that hasn't been the case since 2013:

It would be one thing if this could be traced back to sudden shortages of resources, but Forbes has consistently pegged the Yankees as MLB's most valuable franchise. Its revenues hit $482 million in 2022, and $668 million as recently as 2019.

Rather than one of an inability to spend, the story here has often seemed like an unwillingness to do so. And for this, there's even a smoking gun.

“That’s my job every year, to make sure that we’re financially responsible,” Yankees chairman Hal Steinbrenner told reporters in March. “I’ve got a lot of partners and banks and bondholders and things like that that I answer to. But at the same time, it’s always the goal to win a championship.”

Financial responsibility first, championships second. A fine way to manage the expectations of stakeholders, maybe, but a piss-poor way to placate fans who see 27 representations of the latter every time they visit Yankee Stadium.

---

A $360 Million Olive Branch

And yet, here we are in a world where Judge is going to be a Yankee for the next nine years precisely because the man at the top threw caution to the wind.

It wasn't just the Giants, who reportedly offered $360 million, and the San Diego Padres, who offered a whopping $400 million, who forced Steinbrenner's hand. It was also Judge himself, who Martino says personally bargained with Steinbrenner on Tuesday night:

https://twitter.com/martinonyc/status/1600523132770701313

Perhaps Judge left money on the table by not taking San Diego's offer, but his new deal otherwise leaves him lacking for nothing.

Judge will earn $40 million per year—a first for an MLB position player—through his age-39 season in 2031. He gets to stay at Yankee Stadium, which has a short right field to suit his aging legs as well as it has his opposite-field power. And true to Steinbrenner's word, it sounds as if Judge will become the Yankees' first captain since Derek Jeter:

Judge is”very likely” to receive the Captain title, as he shouid once Yankees deal is completed

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 7, 2022

Thus is the way pointed for Judge to truly cement his place among the Yankees' ample stable of icons. There are already many numbers out in Monument Park, but one can easily imagine "99" there as well.

Especially, of course, if Judge helps the Yankees win at least one World Series before the end of his deal.

His signing makes that eventuality so much more likely in the short term, as retaining him means the Yankees are keeping a source of 24 percent of the home runs and nearly 20 percent of the WAR they produced in 2022. The long term hinges on how they build around him, but, hey, that's where such a notable recommitment to spending is even more encouraging than the bounty of potential stars the team has in its farm system.

So as far as Yankees fans should be concerned, the Judge deal is as much a peace offering as it is a transaction. It's a piece of business that signifies that, no matter how overdue, the team clearly means business again.

---

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.

New York Yankees chairperson Hal Steinbrenner helped seal the deal for Aaron Judge's return to the Big Apple.

According to SNY's Andy Martino, Steinbrenner reached out to the star slugger with negotiations entering the final stages and acquiesced when the American League Most Valuable Player requested a ninth year in the Yankees' offer.

https://twitter.com/martinonyc/status/1600523132770701313

This is a narrative that plays to everyone's benefit.

The Yankees had a top-three Opening Day payroll in each of the last four seasons, but the 13-year gap since their last World Series title has brought continued scrutiny on ownership and the front office.

If Judge had signed with another team, it would've furthered the perception that the Steinbrenner family was less concerned with on-field results as long as the money keeps rolling in.

Now, Steinbrenner can point to Judge's deal, and his personal role in making it happen, as a sign of his ambition.

Judge, meanwhile, affirmed his commitment to the franchise. Not only did he re-sign, but he also left money on the table by doing so. According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the San Diego Padres swooped in at the eleventh hour with a 10-year, $400 million offer.

Had money been Judge's primary motivator, he would be calling San Diego home right now.

Instead, it appears New York was his preferred destination all along and that it was only a matter of the Bronx Bombers' willingness to pony up.

The New York Yankees have "definite interest" in free-agent pitcher Carlos Rodón after securing a deal for Aaron Judge, according to Jack Curry of YES.

Re-signing Judge had been a priority for the Yankees, and the two sides agreed to a $360 million deal over nine years Wednesday, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

The Yankees can turn their sights to improving the rotation, and they have confidence Rodón "has the mettle to succeed" in New York, per Curry.

Rodón spent last season with the San Francisco Giants after signing a two-year deal, finishing with a 14-8 record, 2.88 ERA and a league-high 12.0 strikeouts per nine innings.

He earned his second straight All-Star selection and finished sixth in voting for the National League Cy Young award. The left-hander finished fifth in voting for the American League Cy Young a year earlier with the Chicago White Sox.

The 29-year-old opted out of the final year of his contract last month, giving him a chance to earn a long-term deal. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Rodón wants a six-year contract at more than $30 million per year.

He could be a good fit for the Yankees, who are looking to add depth to the rotation alongside Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes. Another front-line starter may be what they need to get over the top after failing to reach the World Series despite six straight seasons of playoff appearances.

The market has a steep drop-off at the position if the Yankees don't land Rodón.

Proven veterans Jacob deGrom and Justin Verlander have found new homes, while productive starters Taijuan Walker, José Quintana and Zach Eflin have also come off the market. Chris Bassitt and Japanese pitcher Koudai Senga are among the remaining options if New York can't sign Rodón.

Aaron Judge will remain with the New York Yankees in a signing that could affect all of MLB.

After a year's worth of back and forth and a lot of interest from the rest of baseball, the outfielder agreed to a nine-year, $360 million deal with the Yankees on Wednesday, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The reward comes after a dominant 2022 season in which Judge led MLB with 62 home runs and 131 RBI on the way to his first MVP award.

The contract is a significant one as we head into the 2023 season. Here are three instant reactions after the latest deal.

---

Betting On Yourself Can Pay

It's rare to hear the full details of contract offers that aren't signed, but Yankees general manager Brian Cashman revealed in April that Judge turned down an eight-year, $230.5 million deal before Opening Day.

Judge admitted in November that he initially thought this might have been a mistake.

"It was tough in the beginning, definitely in April when I think it took me two weeks to get my first home run," Judge said on MLB Network (h/t Dan Martin of the New York Post). "There's a little doubt that creeps into your mind about it and you’re sitting in the outfield kicking yourself, like, 'Man, maybe I should have taken that deal.'"

It turns out Judge was right to trust his first instincts.

The 30-year-old came through with one of the best hitter seasons in a decade. Beyond his American League record for home runs, he also set career highs with a .311 batting average, .425 on-base percentage and 211 OPS+.

As a result, he now has the third-largest contract in MLB history. At $40 million per year, his annual contract ranks third in baseball behind New York Mets pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander.

Counting his $19 million earned in 2022, Judge added $148.5 million in contract value by not taking the offer last year and betting on himself.

Other players may replicate the move in the future, waiting until free agency to maximize their value rather than taking team-friendly contracts earlier in the process.

---

Pressure Off Brian Cashman...for Now

The Yankees re-signed Cashman to a four-year deal earlier this week, but fans certainly wouldn't have been happy if that preceded Judge leaving in free agency.

New York was unable to lock up Judge before his monster 2022 season, and there were rumors about the San Francisco Giants becoming the leader to sign the outfielder. The Yankees would have lost not only a major piece of their lineup for next season but also a massively popular player in the biggest market in the country.

Any struggles in 2023 would have put Cashman squarely on the hot seat.

Re-signing Judge gives the fans what they want and keeps the Yankees as a top contender after they went 99-63 last season. With other big hitters like Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo still in the lineup, New York should still have one of the top offenses in baseball and be the team to beat in the AL East.

The Yankees still have work to do, however, especially considering they have failed to get past the Houston Astros in the AL. They have reached the playoffs in each of the last eight years but have yet to reach the World Series in this span.

Cashman must continue to add depth to the lineup and rotation to help put New York over the top.

If the team falls short in the playoffs again next year, the GM will hear more calls for his job.

---

Steep Drop-Off in Impact Free Agents

The Giants were among the top teams in the Judge sweepstakes, while the Boston Red Sox were also in touch with the player, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. And other big-market teams like the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers are always seemingly involved in the potential signings of top free agents.

But there are few options for teams seeking an impact player in free agency, especially in the outfield.

Judge has had a 16.9 fWAR over the last two seasons combined, but only one other free-agent outfielder—Brandon Nimmo—has had more than 5.0 fWAR in this span, per MLB.com.

Nimmo is a solid all-around player who could help a contender, but he had just 16 home runs last season after tallying eight in each of the previous three years. The 29-year-old is nowhere near the middle-of-the-order difference-maker Judge has been.

Those in need of offensive help could target one of the shortstops among Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts or Dansby Swanson, but arguably the top option at the position is already off the board after Trea Turner agreed to an 11-year, $300 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday. The remaining players could get pricey with limited alternatives on the open market.

Any team seeking a big-name addition this offseason better move quickly because the well will dry up in a hurry.

The New York Yankees saw their 2023 payroll balloon to over $200 million on Wednesday with the reported re-signing of superstar outfielder Aaron Judge.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that Judge and the Yankees came to terms on a nine-year, $360 million contract, meaning Judge will make an average of $40 million per season over the life of the deal.

Prior to the reported Judge signing, Spotrac listed the Yankees' 2023 payroll at $162,085,714. The Judge signing will bring it up to $202,085,714.

News of Judge returning to the Bronx Bombers came one day after Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that Judge had signed with the San Francisco Giants, only to retract it.

The 30-year-old Judge is coming off one of the most prolific seasons in MLB history, as he set a new American League single-season record with 62 home runs, surpassing the previous record of 61 set by Roger Maris in 1961.

In addition to leading MLB in home runs, he led the AL in RBI (131) and runs scored (133). He also stole a career-high 16 bases and hit a career-best .311, which was second in the AL, leaving him just short of the Triple Crown.

Judge's new contract is tied for the second-biggest in MLB history in terms of total dollars with Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, behind only the 12-year, $365 million deal Mookie Betts signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

His $40 million average annual salary is also the highest in MLB history among position players.

While it is a hefty price to pay and a long commitment to make to a player already in his 30s, there is no denying that Judge was the centerpiece of the Yankees offense last season and the primary reason why they went 99-63, won the AL East and reached the American League Championship Series.

Judge shoots to the top of the list in terms of the Yankees' highest-paid players annually, ahead of pitcher Gerrit Cole ($36 million) and slugger Giancarlo Stanton ($32 million).

New York also re-signed first baseman Anthony Rizzo to a two-year, $40 million contract this offseason.

To this point, the Yanks are largely set to return the same roster they had last season, with the exception of some potential call-ups from their talented prospect pool.

There are still plenty of quality players available in free agency, however, meaning the Judge signing may just be the start of what they plan to do on the open market.

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge is staying with the only Major League Baseball team he has ever known for the foreseeable future.

Judge and the Yankees agreed to a new nine-year, $360 million contract Wednesday, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported that Judge flew into San Diego late Tuesday night to make his decision between the Yankees, San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres.

The slugger's previous contract ran through the 2022 season, but he said he "wants to be a Yankee for life" in March, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.

While a deal didn't happen prior to or during the 2022 campaign, Judge didn't change his tune at the All-Star break when he told reporters: "I want to play for the Yankees. I want to be here for a long time. If it works out, it works out. But if it doesn't, it doesn't. It's out of my hands."

The lack of a long-term deal put pressure on the four-time All-Star during the season, and all he did was turn in one of the best individual campaigns in MLB history.

He finished with a .311/.425/.686 slash line, an American League-record 62 home runs and 131 RBI while capturing the attention of the baseball world. While the Yankees lost to the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series, Judge's record-setting efforts drove up his price heading into the offseason.

"The [Los Angeles] Dodgers and other clubs could become serious pursuers of Judge, as well, turning this into a bidding war that figures to surpass $300 million," Randy Miller of NJ.com reported in October.

New York won that bidding war, and he will remain one of the faces of the franchise—as he has been since his terrific rookie season in 2017.

Judge won AL Rookie of the Year and a Silver Slugger while finishing second in AL MVP voting behind a slash line of .284/.422/.627, a league-best 52 home runs and 114 RBI.

Injuries then became an issue, as he played 112 games in 2018, 102 games in 2019 and 28 games in the shortened 2020 campaign. Still, he was an All-Star in 2018 and launched 27 long balls in 2018 and 2019.

Judge also bounced back in impressive fashion in 2021 by slashing .287/.373/.544 with 39 home runs and 98 RBI in 148 games. The performance underscored his long-term importance to the Yankees and surely gave them additional confidence when it came to signing him to a new deal.

Then came his MVP performance in 2022, which did nothing to quell that confidence.

Now Judge will focus on attempting to win his first career World Series title after helping lead New York to the playoffs in each of his first six full seasons.