NFL
By: Billy Lewis
The marriage between Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees will continue. A day after Judge was rumored to be going to the San Francisco Giants, in a tweet that was quickly deleted by Jon Heyman, Judge made his much anticipated Free-Agent decision.
Many Yankee fans went to bed Tuesday night nervous that they might have seen the last of Judge in Pinstripes. However, while fans were in the midst of heading to work, or waking up, they got the news they were waiting for. Aaron Judge is coming back to the Yankees.
Sources: Aaron Judge is in agreement with the #Yankees. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 7, 2022
The San Francisco Giants were always known to be the competition for Judge, but the San Diego Padres also entered the mix, allegedly offering Judge $400 million for 10 years. Meanwhile, the Yankees and Giants both appeared to have offered Judge the same $360 million for 9 years.
Allegedly Yankee Owner, Hal Steinbrenner, called Judge to ask a simple question.
Steinbrenner reportedly called Judge directly to ask him, “Do you want to be a Yankee?” via Michael Blinn NY Post
Judge did want to be a Yankee and thus agreed to the deal for 9 years $360 million. The deal is not official just yet as it is pending a physical, but Judge should be roaming right field in the Bronx for the next decade.
Judge is a fan favorite and the leader in the Yankee clubhouse, so this deal means much more than just getting a player back in the Bronx. It feels inevitable that Judge will be named Yankee Captain, as he has been the unofficial captain recently.
On Wednesday’s episode of “The Michael Kay Show” ESPN NY 98.7 FM, Yankee announcer, Michael Kay, mentioned how Judge is on his way to Hawaii to Honeymoon with his wife Samantha. Odds are Judge will take his physical when he returns and then I’d expect a press conference welcoming back Judge and in turn naming him the 14th captain in Yankee history.
The Yankees are a win now team and bringing back Judge is a huge step toward bringing a championship back to the Bronx. However, there is still a long way to go, and with big-name free agents still available, Carlos Rodón anyone? Brian Cashman still has work to do and there are still plenty of moves to be made before we get to April.
