Harold Reynolds claims Yankees almost traded Aaron Judge to the Angels

MLB Network’s Harold Reynolds claims there was a trade in place in spring training that would have sent Aaron Judge from the New York Yankees to the Los Angeles Angels.

On Tuesday night, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge hit his 60th home run of the season, bringing him one away from tying Roger Maris’ record for most homers hit in the AL in one year. With that, fans were on alert on Wednesday to see if he would hit the record-tying homer against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

MLB Network cut into the Yankees-Pirates game for Judge at-bats. In the process, Harold Reynolds decided to drop a claim that he heard that there was a trade in place in spring training this year that would send Judge from the Yankees to the Los Angeles Angels. Reynolds said the deal was “basically done.”

Harold Reynolds claims that Aaron Judge trade to Angels was ‘basically done’

When asked who the Yankees would have gotten in the deal for Judge, Reynolds said he did not know, other than that a deal was “done.” Reynolds is said that it’s something he’s heard and that he could be wrong, but doesn’t think he is.

Of course, no deal actually happened, as Judge was with the Yankees for the entirety of the 2022 season.

Prior to the start of the 2022 campaign, Judge and the Yankees could not agree to terms on a contract extension. General manager Brian Cashman revealed to the media that their offer was for seven-years, worth $213.5 million. Judge is set to become a free agent at the end of the year, and he is not only on the brink of breaking the AL single-season home run record, but on pace to hit the Triple Crown.

In regards to the Triple Crown, Judge leads the American League with 60 home runs, 128 runs batted in, and a .317 batting average following the team’s 14-2 win over the Pirates on Sept. 21.

Whether there was a trade in place or not, Judge remained in New York, and he is on the verge of making history before the end of the regular-season. Whenever the team’s postseason run ends, he will hit free agency and without a doubt become one of the highest paid players in the league.