A horrible comparison for Aaron Judge’s free agency decision was provided on the Yankees broadcast network. Take a listen.
Aaron Judge is a free agent, and he’s undoubtedly the most sought-after star available in the open market this winter. The New York Yankees want him (and to be honest, need him) back but he’s free to strike a deal with any team.
Judge leaving would be painful for Yankees fans but honestly, understandable. The star outfielder was low-balled before the season and then Brian Cashman proceeded to reveal exactly what the offer the Yankees made to Judge was, a mistake the Yankees made with Derek Jeter previously which reportedly frustrated Judge.
Jack Curry, on YES Network, had this to say about what someone compared the situation to:
"“Talking to one person from the baseball world today who said, ‘do you want to be Derek Jeter, which is a Yankee for life and a captain, or do you want to be Robinson Cano who left the Yankees and went to Seattle for more money?'”"
"Do you want to be Derek Jeter...or do you want to be Robinson Canó?"@JackCurryYES & @flash17yes weigh in on Aaron Judge.#YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/tFowZcltkS
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) November 22, 2022
Aaron Judge being compared to Robinson Cano is a horrible take
Really? If Judge exercises his right as a free agent to go and get what he’s worth, he goes from being Derek Jeter to Robinson Cano?
Cano was a great Yankee, but he wasn’t nearly as historic as Judge. His highest WAR year with the Bronx Bombers was 8.4, Judge’s in 2022 surpassed 10. His highest oWAR was 7.0, Judge surpassed that this year and in 2021. Yes, the comparison was about whether or not Judge wants to be a long-time Yankee or a team-hopping free agent, but if Judge leaves, it’s 100 percent on the Yankees. You can not fault Judge for skipping town if the Yankees don’t match whatever offers he gets elsewhere.
Furthermore, faulting Cano for going out and getting the bag he earned as if he needs to be loyal to the pinstripes and give a New York discount is lunacy. The Yankees have money to spend. If they don’t match the market for their best players, that’s not on the free agents.
Now, who said this is entirely unclear. It could have been anyone in the baseball world, perhaps someone outside of the Yankees organization. If that’s the case, this makes a little more sense.
Most of Curry’s sources, though, are obviously in the Yankees organization, and if people are internally talking about Judge this way as if he’d be Cano if he leaves for more money, it’s clear they still don’t value his talent after the amazing season he had in 2022 that finally gave Yankees fans something to cheer for, even if the postseason didn’t go as expected. If GM Brian Cashman is thinking along these lines, Yankees fans are in for a very rough ride.
Not to mention, Judge has the moxie and cool-headed leadership style that aligns with what Jeter represented for the team and would be a logical fill-in as team captain, a role that has gone unfilled since Jeter’s retirement.