Aaron Judge

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was voted the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year on Friday after he set the American League home run record during the 2022 season.

Judge beat out Los Angeles Angels two-way standout Shohei Ohtani and Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry for the honor. Ohtani won the award in 2021 and Curry won it in 2015.

"Wow. That's incredible," Judge said of his selection. "All these other great athletes that not only impacted the game and their sport, but also impacted their communities and the culture in the sports world and outside the sports world. So getting a chance to be amongst that list is an incredible honor."

The 30-year-old joins a group of winners that includes former Yankees Joe DiMaggio (1941), Mickey Mantle (1956) and Roger Maris (1961). Other MLB players to win the honor this millennium include Jose Altuve (2017), Madison Bumgarner (2014) and Barry Bonds (2001).

Judge had a phenomenal 2022 campaign, slashing .311/.425/.686 with 62 home runs and 131 RBI in 157 games. He earned his fourth All-Star selection, third Silver Slugger award and first AL MVP award.

Judge also led MLB in runs (133), on-base percentage (.425), slugging percentage (.686), OPS (1.111), extra-base hits (90) and total bases (391). He tied for No. 1 in the majors with 131 RBI.

The California native became a free agent this winter, and there were questions about whether he would re-sign with the Yankees. After offers from several teams, including his hometown San Francisco Giants, Judge agreed to a nine-year, $360 million deal with the Pinstripes.

The Yankees went on to name him the 16th captain in franchise history and the first since Derek Jeter, who served as the club's captain from 1995 to 2014.

Judge has spent his entire seven-year career with the Yankees. While he has plenty of individual honors, his goal entering the 2023 campaign remains to win a World Series. With the Yankees' offseason additions, they'll be one of the teams to beat this season.

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge's 62nd home run ball sold at auction for $1.5 million.

Goldin Auctions sold the ball on Saturday night, with six total bids coming in. The initial price tag was set at $1 million when the listing opened on Nov. 29, with each bid increasing by $50,000 before the winner was determined.

BREAKING: Aaron Judge’s No. 62 home run ball has sold at @GoldinCo for $1.5 million, including buyer’s premium. pic.twitter.com/QU1YRFMA18

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 18, 2022

Judge broke Roger Maris' 61-year-old American League record with his final homer of the regular season on Oct. 4 in the second game of a doubleheader against the Texas Rangers.

No. 62 is No. 2!

Aaron Judge's historic blast is the 2nd best play of 2022! pic.twitter.com/QSdde44Bdr

— MLB (@MLB) December 12, 2022

Corey Youmans, the fan who caught the ball, initially said he hadn't thought about what he would do with it.

Judge was asked about potentially getting the ball for his own personal collection after the game.

"I don't know where it's at, so we'll see what happens with that," the Yankees slugger told reporters. "It'd be great to get it back, but that's a souvenir for a fan, so, you know, they made a great catch out there, and they've got every right to it."

Even though Youmans did make out well in this auction, he may regret not selling the ball earlier. He told ESPN's Jeff Passan someone offered him $3 million for the piece of Major League Baseball history.

"It seems fair in the sense it gives anyone that is interested and has the means the opportunity to own it," Youmans explained to Passan. "As a fan, I'm curious to see what it's worth, who buys it and what they do with it."

Judge became the first MLB player to hit at least 60 homers in a season since Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa in 2001. The 30-year-old was named AL MVP for his historic performance in 2022.

The New York Yankees were reportedly preparing for Aaron Judge to leave for the San Francisco Giants or San Diego Padres before a nine-year, $360 million deal came together at the last minute.

One Yankee executive told Buster Olney of ESPN that he had a "feeling" Judge would bolt to the West Coast amid interest from the Padres and Giants.

The Yankees' most serious competitor in the race was San Francisco. Olney reported the Giants' offer came in at somewhere between $320 million and $360 million. There was even a brief period when seemingly credible but ultimately erroneous reports of Judge leaving for San Francisco made the rounds on social media.

The Padres reportedly made it clear they were willing to outbid the Yankees, but nothing "formal was presented to the league offices."

In the end, the Yankees' negotiations with Judge came down to one question: Did he want to be a Yankee? Olney reported Hal Steinbrenner asked Judge that exact question during a phone conversation Dec. 6. When the reigning AL MVP indicated he wanted to stay in New York, Steinbrenner gave the OK to increase the team's offer from $320 million to $360 million.

"Hal Steinbrenner has been the tip of the spear with this one," general manager Brian Cashman told reporters a few hours later. "Our organization has tried to stay connected in every way possible—Hal Steinbrenner directly with Aaron Judge, as well—to make sure that there was going to be no stone unturned and there was no effort missed in our discussions."

Judge is coming off one of the greatest power-hitting seasons in MLB history—and the greatest since the steroid era. His 62 home runs in 2022 are the most in American League history and the most by a player who has not fallen under a cloud of steroid suspicion.

The San Francisco Giants may have wanted Aaron Judge, but Carlos Correa was always the guy they needed.

Bully for them, then, that Correa's the guy they got. As ESPN's Jeff Passan was first to report late Tuesday night, the Giants came to terms with the decorated shortstop on a 13-year contract that will pay out $350 million.

Breaking: Carlos Correa agrees to a 13-year, $350M deal with the Giants, per @JeffPassan 💰 @BRWalkoff pic.twitter.com/n9qFIDUUp6

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 14, 2022

In contrast to the opt-out-laden deal that Correa signed with the Minnesota Twins in March, this one's pretty much for life. Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the 28-year-old's pact with the Giants features full no-trade protection and no opt-outs. He's locked in to play in the Bay Area through his age-40 season in 2035.

He'll certainly be well-compensated. The $350 million guarantee puts Correa at the high end of what he was reportedly seeking last winter, not to mention atop the heap among the highest paid shortstops in history.

If reports of their $360 million offer to Judge are accurate, the Giants have nonetheless saved money in pivoting to Correa after the reigning American League MVP returned to the New York Yankees. And that's just one way that that outcome was for the best.

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Aaron Judge Never Made Much Sense for the Giants

To be frank, the Giants' interest in Judge always smacked of corporate types saying, "Let's get this guy because he'll make us money," rather than baseball operations types saying, "Let's get this guy because he'll help us win games."

Joel Sherman of the New York Post indeed suggested as much in November, writing that the Giants' higher-ups craved a star who could draw 'em out like Barry Bonds used to in the early 2000s.

At least on paper, Judge was an ideal solution. A 6'7", 282-pound slugger fresh off hitting an American League-record 62 home runs, and from nearby Linden to boot? That's a draw, all right.

And yet, something a rival executive said to Heyman sums up how awkward of a fit Judge and the Giants were: "He's going to leave the greatest market to go across country to a team where it's hard to hit homers? Come on."

No disrespect to the awesome power in Judge's bat, but Yankee Stadium surely helped amplify his home run output. Oracle Park is not known to do such things, particularly for right-handed sluggers.

Besides, Judge is a guy with a concerning injury history who's pushing 31. Whoever signed him was going to be committing to a win-now window, which would have been an odd thing for the Giants to do on the heels of an 81-81 effort in 2022.

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Carlos Correa Makes Tons of Sense for the Giants

Signing Correa, on the other hand, isn't strictly a win-now move. It's much more one of the win-now-and-later variety.

Unless he's planning on putting on Michael Lorenzen-ian levels of bulk so he can also pursue home run history, Correa's ceiling doesn't go quite as high as Judge's. But you'd be hard-pressed to find a contemporary superstar with a higher floor, as it's not by accident that Correa has averaged 7.2 rWAR per 162 games throughout his eight MLB seasons.

As evidenced by his well-above-average 129 OPS+ and 18 career postseason home runs, the guy can hit no matter the time of year. The guy can also field, for which you can see his 70 defensive runs saved since 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYq_Rf5TFcI

Correa likewise boasts less quantifiable qualities, such as how he carries himself in the clubhouse. It's telling how strong of an impression he made on his fellow Twins despite only being with them for a few months.

"[Correa] studies players; he studies the game," Nick Gordon told Dan Hayes of The Athletic. "It's the type of player you are, the type of player you want to be, things like that. Potential. He can just see. He sees. He's got an eye for the game. It can be anything, baseball, non-baseball, whatever. It really doesn't matter."

This is a guy the Giants can build around, even if it involves shifting Brandon Crawford to third base in the near term and perhaps Correa himself there in the long term. He's young enough that the Giants should still have years before they have to worry about that. And once they do, they'll need not worry about whether his arm will play at the hot corner.

What's more, Correa didn't cost the Giants any draft picks, as he was ineligible for a qualifying offer, and the structure of his contract is surely conducive to team-building. His $26.9 million average annual value is far short of the $40 million per year Judge got.

That's advantageous in many ways, but particularly as it relates to AAV-driven luxury-tax calculations.

The extra flexibility could come in handy in any number of ways, be they unforeseeable or very much seeable. For instance, potential runs at Rafael Devers or Shohei Ohtani on next winter's free-agent market look that much more feasible.

As for whether Correa himself will be good for business, the Giants don't need him to be. They're getting more than $100 million per year just from TV deals, or enough for basically four Correas.

But if he does boost ticket sales, well, it wouldn't be for the first time:

The Twins have sold more than 100,000 single-game, group tickets and Twins Passes since the news of Carlos Correa's signing broke.

— Betsy Helfand (@betsyhelfand) March 23, 2022

If this particular brand of history repeats itself, it may not be simply because Giants fans also want to turn out for a guy whose credentials include a Rookie of the Year, two All-Star nods, a Gold Glove and a World Series ring.

Correa figures to be that much more of a draw when the Los Angeles Dodgers come to town, as the very real hate they have for him down there is all the more reason for Giants fans to have his back.

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Are the Giants a Contender Now, Though?

It's all well and good that the Giants have made a sensible long-term gamble on Correa, but the question remains: Does he put them over the hump in the here and now?

If it were just him, no way. But it's not just him, as the Giants had been loading up their offense and pitching even before they agreed to write a $350 million check:

The Giants are all of a sudden having a huge offseason: Carlos Correa, Joc Pederson, Mitch Haniger, Ross Stripling, Sean Manaea. They are still looking for bullpen help, but the heavy lifting is done.

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) December 14, 2022

Though the absence of ace left-hander Carlos Rodón—who pitched to a 2.88 ERA over 178 innings for the Giants in 2022—still looms large, that's a good haul that has the Giants looking that much better in relation to National League rivals.

FanGraphs, for example, gives them the eighth-highest WAR projection of any NL team for 2023. Not great but seemingly within the margin of error for a pursuit of the league's three wild-card berths.

This is also assuming that the Giants are done shopping, and they might not be. They have about $26.7 million worth of breathing room between them and the first luxury-tax threshold for 2023. That's plenty to accommodate the club's remaining needs, such as a proper center fielder and a late-inning arm.

To squeeze this long story down into a short one: The Giants look a heck of a lot better than they did at the end of the '22 season. Their new shortstop is but one reason.

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Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.

The San Diego Padres were willing to pay Aaron Judge well into his 40s to secure a deal for the American League MVP.

The New York Post's Jon Heyman reported the Padres "were contemplating a deal for $400 million-plus over 14 years."

On Wednesday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported San Diego made a 10-year, $400 million offer to Judge at the 11th hour. Adding four more years would've lessened the annual cost of the contract while taking him through his age-44 season.

Heyman noted MLB might have intervened had things gotten any further because it "would have seen the additional years as only an attempt to lower their official payroll to lessen the tax."

Judge agreed to a nine-year, $360 million deal to return to the New York Yankees.

The Padres haven't rested on their laurels after reaching the National League Championship Series in 2022. In addition to their failed pursuit of Judge, they made a run at Trea Turner before he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies.

After getting spurned by both players, San Diego turned around and landed Xander Bogaerts for a reported $280 million over 11 years.

Enter Xan Man. pic.twitter.com/nSeoMlsaXO

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) December 9, 2022

Padres ownership has given president of baseball operations A.J. Preller the green light to spend over the last few years. That Preller was empowered to target Judge and Turner and ultimately sign Bogaerts is particularly fascinating, given the contract statuses of Manny Machado and Juan Soto.

Machado can opt out of the final five years and $150 million of his deal after the 2023 season. He'll be 31 next winter, three months younger than Bogaerts, so it stands to reason he can collect a better payout by hitting free agency.

Soto, meanwhile, is eligible to enter the open market in 2025 and could have one of the most frenzied bidding wars ever. ESPN's Jeff Passan posited Wednesday on The Pat McAfee Show that Soto and Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani could be the first players in MLB history to get $500 million.

If Machado and Soto don't sign long-term agreements before hitting free agency, then there are no guarantees about their futures in San Diego. The Padres at least appear to be showing they won't lose either player purely because they weren't willing to pony up the dough.

What else do the New York Yankees have up their sleeve?

It appears the team isn't done making moves after re-signing superstar and reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge to a nine-year, $360 million contract.

"They are in on Carlos Rodon, but then I heard that there's something even bigger that they're working on," Michael Kay said on his show Friday.

The assumption will be that if the Yankees are pursuing a bigger fish than Rodon left on the market, it will be star shortstop Carlos Correa.

ESPN's Buster Olney hinted as much, saying on 95.7 The Game's Willard and Dibs that he's "definitely picking up a lot of vibes" the Yankees are "working on something big" in regards to Correa.

The Yankees already have Isiah Kiner-Falefa at shortstop and a pair of highly regarded prospects at the position in Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza, so it hasn't appeared to be the team's biggest need this offseason.

There's no doubt that Correa would be an immediate upgrade, however.

The 28-year-old, a two-time All-Star, hit .291 with 22 homers, 64 RBI, 70 runs and a .834 OPS. It was his sixth season with at least 20 home runs, excellent production for a player at a defensively-key position.

Retaining Judge and landing Correa in the same offseason would be a huge splash for the Yankees, even if it's arguable that adding a left-fielder is a more pressing need and stockpiling starting pitchers on Rodon's level is never a bad idea.

Regardless of how the Yankees continue to approach free agency, it doesn't appear as though the Judge signing will slow them down this winter.

"We have a lot of aspects of the roster that we need to address," Cashman told reporters on Wednesday. "There's other aspects of the roster we're trying to address and we'll continue to do so. We're on the clock. We'll obviously give [manager Aaron Boone] the best players so he can have the best team and he can do with it what he wants when spring training starts."

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?

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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.

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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.

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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.