The first big signings of the offseason came on the first day of the Winter Meetings, and while nothing has broken on the Aaron Judge front.
Aaron Judge : Did sign with mets | winter meetings
There isn’t much doubt that Aaron Judge‘s next contract will top the $300MM mark, though the exact distance over $300MM and the length of the deal are still unknown.
Recent reports have suggested that the Yankees offered Judge an eight-year pact worth roughly $300MM, and that a minimum of nine years will be required to sign the AL MVP.
That nine-year demand might already be a reality, as MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (Twitter link) hears some speculation from industry sources that Judge has a nine-year offer in hand.
The Yankees’ previous offer wasn’t said to be their final bid, so it could be that New York added an extra year to retain their longtime star.
Or, it could be that the Giants (another team known to be in hot pursuit of Judge) have floated a nine-year offer, or perhaps even an unknown team.
Did sign with mets
Aaron Judge is coming off a historic season and is now a free agent. We can skip the rest of what could be a meaty introduction and just get right to the point here: Let’s make the hypothetical case for the Mets to sign Aaron Judge, just like we did with the Giants and the Dodgers.
To be clear before proceeding, I don’t necessarily, personally, believe everything said below. I’m putting myself in the mindset of “here’s why the Mets should sign Judge” and going all out in making the argument.
Remember that last series against the Braves in Atlanta where the Mets could have put the NL East away and instead were swept? One of the easier observations between the two teams was the Mets needing to string together a bunch of hits to score runs while the Braves just slugged.
In this era where the pitchers are so much better than they ever have been, the key to the best offenses moving through the playoffs is being able to put one over the fence.
It’s easy to say teams shouldn’t be overly reliant on the home run, and that shouldn’t be the only way they can score, but we’ve been tracking for years that the teams hitting more home runs win a significant majority of playoff games and it’s not a coincidence.
In the regular season, the Mets led the NL in hits and batting average. They were second in on-base percentage, yet they finished third in runs scored, thanks to sitting fifth in slugging percentage and eighth in home runs.
Among the 12 MLB playoff teams, the Mets ranked ninth in home runs. They tied for 15th overall. The Yankees were first, Braves second, Astros fourth, Dodgers fifth and Phillies sixth, by the way.
Aaron Judge winter meetings
The first big signings of the offseason came on the first day of the Winter Meetings, and while nothing has broken on the Aaron Judge front since a floated contract offer was leaked, the AL MVP will arrive in San Diego on Tuesday and is expected to sign by the end of the week (he remained newsworthy last night, as he was named to the All-MLB First Team).
The Yankees are still considered co-favorites for Judge, and have a couple other rumored irons in the fire as well.
The man monitoring those irons in the fire will be GM Brian Cashman, who has been operating without a contract for the past month but received his new four-year deal yesterday. It will run through the 2026 season, and I have more thoughts on Cashman’s return here.
As you might’ve heard, AL MVP Aaron Judge, fresh off a 62-homer season in New York Yankees pinstripes, is a free agent.
After turning down a seven-year, $213 million extension last spring, he went out and posted … just about the best contract year anyone has ever seen.
The mammoth slugger, who still plays an agile right field and can pass in center, is a top priority of the Yankees and the San Francisco Giants. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the Yankees’ recent offer to Judge spans eight years and totals about $300 million — and could rise as the Giants bid.
With those two franchises towering as the most interested suitors, I broke down Judge’s potential decision, which could be revealed during this week’s meetings.