Former Fresno State outfielder Aaron Judge signed a $360 million deal to re-sign with the New York Yankees for another nine years, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network.
Announced this morning, this is the largest contract in MLB history for a position player, in annual value. The Yankees are the only team to sign three players (Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gerit Cole) to contracts over $300 million throughout the league’s history.
Last October, Judge made his intentions clear as he prepared to enter the final year of his contract with New York that he wanted to be “a Yankee for life,” in a press conference after losing to the Red Sox in the American League Wild Card Game in 2021.
“I want to wear these pinstripes for the rest of my career, represent this great organization and bring a championship back to the city,” Judge said in the conference.
Judge had other offers, especially after receiving the 2022 American League Most Valuable Player. The San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres also offered him substantial contracts.
Media coverage was an additional pressure on the Yankees to quickly re-sign Judge. Manager Aaron Boone, General Manager Brian Cashman and the Yankees front office felt like Judge was slipping away from them due to ongoing articles and posts about potential contracts.
In a long-winded response, Boone told the media he was “concerned” when asked if he had seen other reports saying Judge was leaving the Yankees.
“I didn’t have any sleep,” Cashman said during a media conference inside the Grand Hyatt San Diego on Wednesday.
Jon Heyman, a columnist at the New York Post, incorrectly reported via Twitter that Judge made a deal with the Giants on Tuesday afternoon. Heyman quickly deleted the tweet and retracted the statement, but not before his post received tens of thousands of likes and retweets in the span of a few minutes.
According to SportsNet New York’s (SNY) Andy Martino, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner called Judge on Tuesday evening to get his star outfielder back, making him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Despite the rumors, Judge returns to the Yankees after a historic season in which he hit 62 home runs, setting an American League record. He also finished the season with 131 runs batted in with a .311 batting average, with the Yankees also winning the AL East division.
Judge will return in pinstripes next season on Mar. 30, 2023, against the San Francisco Giants at Yankee Stadium.
