New York Yankees

Major League Baseball teams looking for outfield help this offseason reportedly have another option to choose from in free agency.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Japanese star Masataka Yoshida will be posted Wednesday by the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball, meaning he can sign with an MLB team through Jan. 20. "Teams see Yoshida as a plug-and-play left-field option with elite bat-to-ball skills," Passan wrote.

MLB Network's Jon Morosi previously reported the New York Yankees were interested.

MLB's posting system means the Buffaloes, for whom Yoshida played last year, would receive compensation based on his contract.

Per Passan, the Buffaloes would get $5 million for the first $25 million of his contract, $4.375 million of the next $25 million and 15 percent of anything after $50 million. Teams interested in signing him will need to consider that cost, especially since it will come on top of the contract it pays to add him to the lineup.

Still, Yoshida figures to be an impact player from the moment he arrives stateside.

He is in his prime at 29 years old and slashed .335/.447/.551 with 21 home runs, 88 RBI and 80 walks for Orix last season. He topped NPB in OPS in each of the last two campaigns and helped lead the Buffaloes to a Japan Series championship last season.

Yoshida has slashed .327/.421/.539 over his seven-year tenure with the team.

Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter ranked him as the 22nd-best available player going into winter meetings.

He should command a notable contract given the combination of his talent and the lack of outfield depth in this year's free-agency class. While Aaron Judge is the headliner, Brandon Nimmo is the only other top-10 free agent who plays the outfield on Reuter's list.

And he was No. 10.

Yoshida won't command the attention that players like Judge do this offseason, but he can impact the game in a number of ways and could hit better than .300 at the major league level.

The San Francisco Giants mean business in their quest to sign Aaron Judge.

Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post and MLB Network, the Giants' current offer to the reigning American League MVP is believed to be in the range of $360 million.

Heyman noted the belief among rival teams is the New York Yankees remain the favorite to re-sign Judge, but they are still unsure of where things stand with their franchise player.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported last week the Yankees have an offer on the table worth around $300 million over eight years, but they could increase it depending on how far the Giants are willing to push the market.

It's been expected the Giants would be New York's main competition to sign Judge. Randy Miller of NJ.com reported in October they have the 30-year-old at the top of their wish list and "won’t be underbid" by any other team.

Per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, it's "increasingly likely" that Judge's eventual contract will be for nine guaranteed years.

Rosenthal did note the Los Angeles Dodgers are hovering around, but they would prefer to sign Judge to a short-term deal with a high average annual salary.

The Giants have been rolling out the red carpet to let Judge know how much they want him. Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry met with the four-time All-Star during his visit with San Francisco last month, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.

Judge is from California and was drafted out of high school by the Oakland Athletics in the 31st round in 2010. He elected to go to college at Fresno State and developed into a first-round pick by the Yankees three years later.

Since making his big league debut in 2016, Judge ranks second in MLB in homers (220), second in weighted on-base average (.407), fourth in slugging percentage (.583) and seventh in FanGraphs' wins above replacement (36.1).

Judge set an AL record with 62 homers during the 2022 season. He also led MLB in on-base percentage (.425), slugging percentage (.686) and total bases (391).

After winning 107 games in 2021, the Giants came back to earth with an 81-81 record last season. They have missed the playoffs five times in the past six seasons.

Aaron Judge would've preferred to keep his contract negotiations with the New York Yankees behind closed doors ahead of the 2022 MLB season.

"We kind of said, 'Hey, let's keep this between us,'" he said to Time's Sean Gregory regarding his conversations with the team. "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."

In April, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman confirmed the team offered the star slugger a deal that would've paid him $213.5 million in new money over seven years.

Judge's comments now echo his reaction shortly after the negotiations became public. He told reporters the situation was "something I felt like was private between my team and the Yankees."

"I'm just disappointed because I think I’ve been vocal about wanting to be a Yankee for life," he said. "I want to bring a championship back to New York. I want to do it for the fans here. … Not getting that done right now, it stings. But I got a job to do on the field and I gotta shift my focus to that now and go play some ball."

Any frustration he felt toward the Yankees front office didn't bleed into his performance. The four-time All-Star had a contract year for the ages, hitting an American League-record 62 home runs and winning the AL's Most Valuable Player award.

Judge's feelings in the spring haven't precluded him from working with Cashman again toward a new contract that would bring him back to the Big Apple. ESPN's Jeff Passan reported the Yankees "have an offer on the table in the neighborhood of eight years and $300 million and could increase it."

For now, the San Francisco Giants are the Bronx Bombers' only competition. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported Monday that "no prominent mystery team has emerged."

The New York Yankees are reuniting with reliever Tommy Kahnle after agreeing to a two-year, $11.5 million contract, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Kahnle spent the 2022 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, striking out 14 batters and earning one save over 12.2 innings of work. Before that, he was a member of the Yankees for three and a half years.

The right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery in August 2020, which was why his usage this past year was so limited. Before that, he had been an effective option out of New York's bullpen. Over 129 appearances, he had a 3.23 FIP and averaged 12.6 strikeouts per nine innings.

The Bronx Bombers obviously saw enough from Kahnle to believe he can continue to be a consistent contributor moving forward.

Aroldis Chapman left as a free agent this offseason, and while letting him walk was an understandable decision, he's one fewer reliever New York will have in 2023. Scott Effross is out of the picture, too, after getting Tommy John surgery, while Michael King is continuing to recover from his fractured elbow.

Even assuming Clay Holmes will remain the full-time closer, there was a clear need to fortify the bullpen. Given the post-Tommy John questions still surrounding Kahnle, you have to wonder whether further reinforcements will be coming to the Big Apple.

On the heels of his historic season, Time magazine named New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge its athlete of the year for 2022 on Tuesday.

Judge smashed 62 home runs for the Bronx Bombers, breaking the single-season American League record of 61 set by Yankees outfielder Roger Maris in 1961.

By virtue of his 62 homers, 131 RBI, 133 runs scored and .311 batting average, Judge was named AL MVP for the first time, and he is now in line to land one of the biggest contracts in MLB history in free agency.

With Judge leading the way, the Yankees won their first AL East title since 2019 with a 99-63 record, and they defeated the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Division Series of the playoffs.

That marked the Yanks' deepest playoff run since 2019, although they were swept out of the American League Championship Series by the eventual World Series champion Houston Astros.

Judge turned down a contract offer from the Yankees prior to the start of the 2022 season, and that proved to be one of the best decisions of his career, as the 6'7" slugger had a year for the ages.

In an interview with Time, Judge divulged that he wasn't a fan of the fact that Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told the media that he turned down a seven-year, $213 million offer.

"We kind of said, 'Hey, let's keep this between us,' Judge said. "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."

Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Yankees and San Francisco Giants are believed to be the top two suitors for Judge. The Giants are reportedly being "ultra-aggressive" in their pursuit of Judge, but the Yankees remain in talks with him as well.

SNY's Andy Martino reported that the Yankees are aware it will likely take a nine-year offer to retain the 30-year-old Judge.

It was previously reported by ESPN's Jeff Passan that the Yankees made Judge an offer "in the neighborhood" of $300 million over eight years.

The Yankees have a lot of offensive talent coming up through their prospect pipeline in Anthony Volpe, Oswald Peraza and Jasson Dominguez, but they can ill afford to lose Judge.

He is a four-time All-Star and arguably the most feared hitter in the game, which in turn makes the rest of the Yankee lineup that much more dangerous.

Judge is a franchise-altering player, and given what he accomplished in 2022, there is little doubt he deserves to be recognized as the athlete of the year.

The New York Mets reportedly remain in the running to sign free-agent starting pitcher Jameson Taillon, even in the wake of signing Justin Verlander on Monday.

According to SNY's Andy Martino, the Mets tried to sign Taillon before finalizing a deal with Verlander, and they are "still in on" the former New York Yankees hurler.

Martino added that the Mets will "100 percent" add another starting pitcher through free agency or trade, and that the organization is "deep into conversations" with multiple free-agent pitchers.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Monday that the Mets and Verlander, the former Houston Astros ace, agreed to a two-year, $86.66 million contract with a vesting third-year option.

Verlander will essentially serve as the replacement for former Mets ace Jacob deGrom, who signed a five-year, $185 million deal with the Texas Rangers.

The signing of Verlander leaves the Mets with a de facto starting rotation of Verlander, Max Scherzer, Carlos Carrasco, David Peterson and Tylor Megill. In addition to deGrom leaving for Texas, 2022 rotation members Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker are both free agents.

In Taillon, the Mets would be signing a 31-year-old veteran with six years of MLB experience as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Yankees.

Taillon was originally the No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 MLB draft by the Pirates, and he appeared in four seasons for the team before getting traded to the Yanks.

He largely stayed healthy in his two seasons in the Bronx, which was a big step forward after missing all but seven starts in 2019 and the entire 2020 season due to surgery on his flexor tendon and UCL.

In his first season as a member of the Yankees in 2021, Taillon made 29 starts and went 8-6 with a 4.30 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 140 strikeouts over 144.1 innings.

Another year removed from his arm injury, Taillon was better last season, tying his career highs in starts (32) and wins (14). He also posted a 3.91 ERA and 1.13 WHIP, while striking out 151 in 177.1 innings pitched.

Taillon also saw the first playoff action of his career last season, appearing in one game out of the bullpen and starting another. He went 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA, although in his start he allowed just four hits and one earned run in 4.1 innings.

Overall, Taillon has made 143 regular-season starts during his career, registering a 51-35 record with a 3.84 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

Taillon has not developed into the ace the Pirates hoped they were getting when they drafted him second overall, but he is a solid mid-to-back-of-the-rotation starter who could fit in well with the Mets.

Slotting Taillon into the No. 4 spot behind Verlander, Scherzer and Carrasco would give the Mets plenty of rotation depth as they look to improve upon last season's result of falling in the wild-card round of the playoffs.

A pair of AL East rivals could be facing off for All-Star Bryan Reynolds.

According to multiple reports, the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees both have interest in trading for the veteran outfielder:

Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic added that the Miami Marlins and Boston Red Sox are also "known to have interest."

Reynolds became one of the offseason's most intriguing targets when he requested a trade ahead of MLB's winter meetings.

"While it is disappointing, this will have zero impact on our decision-making this offseason or in the future," the Pittsburgh Pirates said in a statement on Saturday. "Our goal is to improve the Pirates for 2023 and beyond. With three years until he hits free agency, Bryan remains a key member of our team. We look forward to him having a great season for the Pirates."

So it's entirely possible Reynolds remains in Pittsburgh next season. But if the team does field offers, it should be able to bring back an attractive trade package.

Reynolds, 27, hit .262 with 27 homers, 62 RBI, 74 runs and a .807 OPS in 145 games. It was a solid season, though a bit of a step back after his 2021 All-Star campaign (.302 with 24 homers, 90 RBI, 93 runs and a .912 OPS).

For teams in need of an upgrade in the outfield, Reynolds—who has largely been a center fielder in his career but has some playing time in the corner outfield spots as well—would be a logical target.

Reynolds could allow Toronto to move George Springer to right field while giving the team more lineup balance as a switch-hitter. After trading former right fielder Teoscar Hernández to the Seattle Mariners, the Blue Jays have a need in the outfield. Reynolds would check a lot of boxes.

For the Yankees, meanwhile, Reynolds is a potential contingency plan if they lose Aaron Judge in free agency, ostensibly to his favorite team from childhood, the San Francisco Giants. The Yankees could also look to make a splashy move in free agency if Judge departs, though those options are dwindling with players like Trea Turner, Justin Verlander and Jacob deGrom already off the market.

The Aaron Judge market is reportedly heating up.

Per Jon Morosi of MLB Network: "From what I can tell, piecing things together here, Aaron Judge's market is certainly above $300 million now, and potentially from two different teams, the Yankees and Giants. ... There are those in the industry who believe that he already has in hand that nine-year offer we've been talking about for a while, that his market is now over that line of $300 million-plus and nine years."

Morosi added that the wait for Judge's signature is likely, at least in part, to see the differences in the offers between the Yankees and Giants.

Although he did not provide any additional details, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Monday, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, that the team has made a "number of offers" to Judge this offseason.

"I do think for the Giants to get Judge, they're going to have to be the clear top bidder," Morosi added. "... Judge is going to have his choice, I believe, between two offers of $300 million-plus. And once you get to that neighborhood, the question really comes to what it is that you want to do."

If the offers are extremely similar, will Judge choose to remain with the team he's played for his entire career, or will he choose to depart for the team he grew up rooting for during his Northern California childhood?

It's the $300 million question, and the most intriguing decision of the MLB offseason.

His decision will have enormous ramifications for both franchises. Judge, 30, is the defending AL MVP after having a historically impactful season, hitting .311 with 62 homers, 131 RBI, 133 runs, 16 stolen bases and a mammoth 1.111 OPS. It was arguably the most impressive offensive season in the post-steroids era.

The four-time All-Star carried the Yankees offense for long stretches of the season, and with many of the top free agents on the market already off the board—Trea Turner to the Philadelphia Phillies, Justin Verlander to the New York Mets and Jacob deGrom to the Texas Rangers—the Yankees would struggle to replace Judge with the same level of splashy free agent they'd be losing.

While the Yankees have a number of intriguing shortstop prospects, ESPN's Buster Olney recently reported that they "would more seriously explore" the top veteran players at the position if Judge signed elsewhere, which now includes Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson.

Giants pitcher Carlos Rodón could be another possibility.

For the Giants, Judge would be the elite slugger the team desperately needs. Joc Pederson led the team last season with 23 homers, while Wilmer Flores paced them with 71 RBI. San Francisco cobbled together a respectable offense but still went a disappointing 81-81 after winning 107 games the season prior.

Judge would be one of the biggest free-agent additions in franchise history. And he would give them the sort of firepower needed to keep pace with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres in the deep NL West.

The Boston Red Sox have "been in touch" with the representatives for star slugger Aaron Judge, according to MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo.

However, Cotillo cautioned that Boston "is not one of the most aggressive teams showing interest in the reigning American League MVP."

The New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants are considered to be at the top of Judge's list. MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reported Monday that "other teams remain on the periphery" and that "no prominent mystery team has emerged."

That doesn't mean Boston is out of the race.

But Cotillo's report came off as a sort of preemptive damage control so the Red Sox could say, "Hey, we tried," with the biggest MLB free agent. That's because a deal of the magnitude Judge will command would run counter to how the franchise has operated in recent years.

The Sox traded Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020 instead of extending his contract, and the same thing might be happening with third baseman Rafael Devers. The New York Post's Jon Heyman reported Nov. 9 that "there is plenty of work to do to complete a deal" with either Devers, who is due to hit the open market in 2024, or free-agent shortstop Xander Bogaerts.

Fans would be thrilled to see Judge prowling the Fenway Park outfield for 81 games a year, but they'd also be right to question why Boston would play hardball with Betts, Bogaerts and Devers and then turn around and meet Judge's massive asking price.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported last week that the Yankees offered Judge an eight-year contract worth around $300 million, and The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported it will take a nine-year deal to get his signature.

As things stand, Boston is projected to open 2023 with a starting outfield of Alex Verdugo, Enrique Hernández and Rob Refsnyder. Judge would clearly offer a massive upgrade.

Under a different front office, there might have been a chance for that to become reality, but it's certainly not how chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has operated since replacing the free-spending Dave Dombrowski in October 2019.

The New York Yankees announced Monday they signed general manager Brian Cashman to a four-year extension through 2026.

The 2023 MLB season will mark Cashman's 26th year as GM of the Yankees and his 38th year with the organization overall.

Cashman's future with the Yanks was called into question entering the 2022 season on the heels of New York getting eliminated by the rival Boston Red Sox in the 2021 American League Wild Card Game.

While 2021 represented the Yankees' fifth consecutive playoff berth and 20th playoff appearance in Cashman's first 24 seasons as GM, postseason failures were piling up, with the Bronx Bombers failing to reach or win a World Series since 2009.

With plenty of pressure on the Yankees to contend in 2022, they got off to a red-hot start and were on pace to challenge the all-time MLB single-season wins record during the first half. However, injuries began to mount, and the Yankees hit the skids after the All-Star break, which left them battling to hang onto the American League East lead.

Ultimately, the Yankees went 99-63 and won the AL East. They beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-2 in the American League Division Series, but they were then swept by the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series.

Bob Watson, who helped assemble the Yankees' World Series-winning team in 1996, resigned following the 1997 season, which led to Cashman's elevation to GM.

The Yankees won the World Series in each of Cashman's first three seasons at the helm, and they reached the World Series in 2001 and 2003 but lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Florida Marlins, respectively.

The Yankees returned to the World Series in 2009 and beat the Philadelphia Phillies, giving Cashman his fourth ring as GM and the Yankees their 27th world title in franchise history.

Despite his accomplishments, it was far from a slam dunk that the 55-year-old Cashman would be back in 2023. However, the Yankees decision-makers clearly felt he did enough to keep his job.

Now, the focus shifts toward trying to re-sign AL MVP Aaron Judge, as well as making other moves to improve the roster in free agency.