Report: Yankees bring back Judge with 9-year, $360M deal
Aaron Judge has rendered his verdict.
The New York Yankees are re-signing the reigning American League MVP to a nine-year, $360-million deal, a source told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.
The pact is pending a physical.
Aaron Judge flew into San Diego at the last minute to decide among three teams: the New York Yankees, the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres. The Yankees bumped their offer to nine years and $360 million, and in the end, Judge decided he wanted to remain a Yankee.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 7, 2022
The commitment is the largest ever to one player by the Yankees, surpassing the $324-million contract Gerrit Cole signed prior to the 2020 season.
Judge becomes the third-highest-paid player in baseball, behind Mike Trout ($426.5 million) and Mookie Betts ($365 million).
The 30-year-old is taking home an additional $146.5 million after he rejected a $213.5-million deal from the Yankees before the 2022 campaign began.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman praised managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner, calling him the "Mariano Rivera" of the negotiations for closing out the deal, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.
After turning down New York's offer last April, Judge put together a historic campaign, breaking the American League's single-season home run record and nearly winning a Triple Crown.
Judge's 2022 stats
| G | HR | RBI | AVG/OBP/SLG | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 157 | 62 | 131 | .311/.425/.686 | 11.4 |
Judge has spent his entire seven-year career with the Yankees, hitting .284/.394/.583 with 220 homers and 40 stolen bases in 729 games while primarily playing right field.
Since debuting in 2016, Judge's 220 dingers rank second in MLB behind only Nolan Arenado (229). The three-time Silver Slugger's 36.1 WAR ranks seventh, according to FanGraphs.
Judge is the third notable signing by the Yankees this offseason after they brought back first baseman Anthony Rizzo and agreed to terms with relief pitcher Tommy Kahnle.
New York is also planning to accelerate other free-agent pursuits for left-hander Carlos Rodon and outfielder Andrew Benintendi, according to Rosenthal and The Athletic's Dennis Lin. They also had interest in Japanese star Masataka Yoshida before he reportedly signed with the Boston Red Sox.