Aaron Judge, Yankees agree to contract: Why he chose New York over Giants, Padres

By Ken Rosenthal, Chris Kirschner and Dennis Lin

Free-agent slugger Aaron Judge has agreed to re-sign with the New York Yankees on a nine-year, $360 million deal, a major-league source confirmed to The Athletic. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi was first to report the news. Here’s what you need to know:

Judge had arguably the most dominant offensive season in baseball history last year, keeping his free-agency sweepstakes top of mind.
He slashed .311/.425/.686, hit an American League record 62 home runs, scored 133 runs and drove in 131.
Ahead of the 2022 season, Judge bet on himself by turning down an eight-year, $230.5 million contract extension offer from the Yankees.
Judge, who turns 31 on April 26, is expected to become the Yankees’ captain as part of the agreement, which ensures he likely will retire wearing the only uniform he has ever known.

Scouting report

There was no bigger story heading into the MLB offseason than where the right fielder and American League MVP will play next season. New York’s general manager Brian Cashman continually reiterated after publicly announcing a deal wasn’t reached on Opening Day that the Yankees wanted Judge back.

Judge had a 207 wRC+ (107 percent better than the league average hitter) and was an 11.4 fWAR player last season. FanGraphs estimates his WAR was worth $91.4 million — it’s possible the Yankees slugger made around an extra $100 million in free agency by taking that bet on himself.

“There’s a pot of gold there,” Cashman said of Judge’s free agency. “It’s yet to be determined … how much it weighs. But it’s a pot of gold, no doubt about it. So, good for him. It was already a big pot, and obviously, it’ll be bigger.”

Judge’s record 62nd homer run arrived on Oct. 4, in the Yankees’ 161st game of the regular season, making him the fourth player in MLB history to reach the mark. The other three (Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa) have been connected with the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

The importance of re-signing Judge

Judge is the most important player the Yankees have needed to retain in free agency since Derek Jeter re-signed after the 2010 season. What Judge means to the franchise both on and off the field could not be replaced by any singular player available on the market. He’s coming off one of the greatest offensive seasons in modern baseball, breaking the American League home run record set by Roger Maris’ 61 in 1961 and posting an 11.4 fWAR, the fourth-highest since 1957.

Off the field, Cashman noted how Judge “puts fannies in the seats.” He’s the most-marketable player New York has employed since Jeter. For a franchise that is as obsessed with its history as the Yankees, they could not afford to have a player whose trajectory is headed for Cooperstown finish out his career on the other side of the country. – Kirschner

What’s next for the Yankees?

The Yankees already added right-handed relief pitcher Tommy Kahnle, who was with the Dodgers this past season and pitched for New York from 2018 to 2020. The addition of Kahnle gives the Yankees another elite changeup thrower in their bullpen. Ron Marinaccio and Wandy Peralta both ranked in the top 10 in run value with their changeups, and Kahnle, in limited innings this season, held hitters to a .064 average against his changeup.

The Yankees would also like to add another starting pitcher and have an interest in Giants starter Carlos Rodón, according to sources. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner made it clear in November at the owners meetings that the organization had the ability to re-sign Judge and continue spending at a high level to improve the roster enough to close the gap that the Astros have created between the two teams since 2017. – Kirschner

What other teams pursued Judge?

The Giants made a strong push for Judge, and at one point Tuesday appeared to be gaining momentum in their efforts to sign him.

Additionally, the Padres struck out Monday on Trea Turner, but as so often is the case under general manager A.J. Preller, were not ready to stop swinging. Club officials met face-to-face with Judge on Tuesday night at Petco Park in San Diego, four sources briefed on the matter told The Athletic. However, it is believed they never got the chance to make a formal bid.

A sitdown with Judge signaled that Preller and owner Peter Seidler were seriously considering the pivot of all pivots. Before Turner agreed to a $300 million deal with the Phillies, the Padres offered the shortstop a $342 million guarantee spread out over at least 11 years, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions. Now that they have lost out on Judge. – Lin and Rosenthal

Required reading

(Photo: Tim Heitman / USA Today)