FILE PHOTO: Oct 23, 2022; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge (99) rounds second base in the second inning against the Houston Astros during game four of the ALCS for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports/
Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees agreed to a $360 million deal following waves of speculation the free agent slugger was on his way to San Francisco.
According to multiple reports Wednesday, Judge and the Yankees are finalizing the framework of the contract that keeps the American League MVP from shedding his pinstripes and returning home to play for the Giants.
Judge, 30, would sign a nine-year deal after rolling the dice by turning down a massive offer last spring. Judge hit 62 home runs in 2022, establishing a new AL home run record.
Judge turned down what general manager Brian Cashman publicly revealed was a contract covering seven years at $213.5 million in March 2022.
Terms of an offer from the Giants matching financial figures to the reported final deal with the Yankees began to leak on Tuesday. Reporters herded at baseball’s winter meetings helped fan flames that Judge was San Francisco-bound after a premature report signaled Judge was a goner.
A four-time All-Star, Judge has 220 career home runs and 497 RBIs in seven seasons. He led the American League with 131 RBIs in 2022.
Cashman and team executives said after the season that bringing Judge back was the “only” priority and making him team captain is a consideration.
“We would love to continue to call him our player every step of the way as he follows what looks like — as long as nothing happens — a career path that will lead him to Cooperstown,” Cashman said Monday night. “I would like him to be in pinstripes every step of the way.”
The Yankees previously set the bar with a pitching contract for free agent Gerrit Cole, who signed a nine-year deal worth $324 million in 2020, at the time the richest in baseball history. Cole’s annual average salary is $36 million.