Brian Cashman reveals a scary lack of communication between Yankees, Aaron Judge
By Mark Powell
The New York Yankees have yet to meet with superstar free agent Aaron Judge at the Winter Meetings, and there are no face-to-face meetings scheduled.
As we enter Day 3 of the MLB Winter Meetings, there hasn’t been much progress on the Aaron Judge front. While Monday afternoon did see the likes of Trea Turner and Justin Verlander sign with new teams, Judge is still a rather massive domino to fall.
Judge is expected to earn well over the $300 million mark, especially given the contract handed out to Turner by the Phillies. 11 years and $300 million for a player many would consider offensively inferior to Judge, and basically the same age, shows just how high Judge’s market can go.
In order to meet Judge’s demands, the Yankees need to see him in person at some point. He had been expected to arrive in San Diego on Tuesday to resume his negotiations with both New York and the San Francisco Giants, though even that is in doubt at this point.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman says the #Yankees are still in active negotiations with Aaron Judge but was unaware that Judge plans to be at the winter meetings Tuesday. There are no current face-to-face talks scheduled with Judge and the Yankees
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 6, 2022
Yankees have yet to meet with Aaron Judge
New York hasn’t yet met with their top free agent priority at the Winter Meetings, which of course is keeping Aaron Judge in Pinstripes. Hal Steinbrenner did meeting with Judge earlier this offseason, however.
Deleted previous tweet bc I think I didn't word it well. Earlier this offseason, Hal Steinbrenner said he met w/ Judge one-on-one. At the time, Steinbrenner didn't say where it happened. In an interview today, Cash mentioned that they had met in Tampa. #Yankees
— Brendan Kuty 🧟♂️ (@BrendanKutyNJ) December 6, 2022
Per Cashman, the Yankees have also made several recent offers to Judge.
Brian Cashman said the Yankees have made “a number of offers” to Aaron Judge and that Hal Steinbrenner has met with him personally
— Joon Lee (@joonlee) December 6, 2022
Judge is fresh off an AL MVP, 62-home run season in which he broke Roger Maris’ longstanding American League record. The Yankees offered him a seven-year, $213.5 million before the start of the season. Judge turned this down, to the dismay of many fans in The Bronx, thus betting on himself to have another breakout season.
And the 30-year-old did just that. Judge will have to choose between New York and San Francisco at the very least. The Giants are likely to offer more money, as they must persuade Judge to leave the only team he’s ever known. Green tends to help.
Judge grew up a Giants fans, watching Barry Bonds break home run records at nearly every turn. He grew up in northern California, and has a chance to return home, as San Francisco is surely framing it.
But the Yankees are baseball’s best brand. Not only will Judge have a better chance at a World Series in New York — the branding opportunities are immense. Leaving all that behind would be a bold choice.
In Pinstripes, he’s the face of baseball. In San Francisco, he’s the face of one franchise.
MLB rumors: 3 things to watch at Day 3 of the 2022 MLB Winter Meetings. dark. Next