SAN DIEGO — The Yankees got their man, the man they had to have. Aaron Judge is the one who saved their 2022 season, and now Aaron Judge has helped them save their offseason. Can you imagine where the Yankees would be without Judge? Thankfully, now they — and all their fans — don’t have to.
The deal for Judge was the right one, logical and fair. He gets $360 million over nine years, an even $40 million a year. And unlike many of the contracts we’ve heard about this winter – especially for pitchers – it is a deal that makes sense.
Judge, 30, is the highest-paid position player in the game now, as he should be. He is not only the face of the most storied franchise but the face of baseball. Beyond being the best position player in the game, Judge is the best marketing man as well (tied with Shohei Ohtani), selling jerseys and more by the truckload, via his on-field exploits.
Better yet, he wins games. The WAR stat suggested he was about an 11-win player in 2022, when he carried the Yankees on his back for a half a season. That figure doesn’t do him much justice. While most of the other main everyday Yankees were hobbled or slumping for months, Judge put together a season for the ages in that amazing second half alone.
The Yankees absolutely had to have him, and they knew it. When a couple false reports started to circulate (including one by me on Twitter) it appeared he was heading to the Giants, folks in the Yankees room said it was “like a morgue” in their room, which is understandable. Sorry about that.
The Yankees had an offer in for eight years and $320 million. Once Judge informed Hal Steinbrenner that they had larger offers, Steinbrenner added a year and another $40 million. While the Yankees tried to get a deal to start the winter, this is a figure more befitting Judge’s standing in the game. He is at the top of the heap, and should be there financially as well.
Anyway, this was a necessity for the Yankees, who have always been star-driven, and as far back as some of us can remember, have always won (30 years and counting with winning records). The alternative would have been unthinkable.
Had Judge gone “home” to San Francisco (he’s actually from Linden, two hours away) or even to the surprise San Diego Padres, who reportedly got involved late, it would have been a disaster.
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Oh, there are some very good players left in free agency. Emerging lefty Carlos Rodon had a very nice 2022 season, and has earned a big contract. Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson are terrific shortstops, but the reality is the Yankees are deeper at that position than anywhere else, with kids Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe believed ready to join Isiah Kiner-Falefa in primetime now.
Judge is the one they had to have. The Yankees have always been about stars, and because history – if not their fans – demands it. Judge will be better off keeping the legacy of the pinstripes, to be sure, but the organization absolutely needed him.
There are few 99-win teams dominated by one man as the Yankees were by Judge, and while no one should expect him to repeat his 2022 season and break the American League home run record again, they would barely be the Yankees without him. Giancarlo Stanton is a fine slugger, Anthony Rizzo an underrated star and Gerrit Cole a true ace. When healthy, it’s a solid roster even beyond those excellent players.
Beyond being the best player, he is the leader, and a fine one at that. When slumping players invariably need a pick-me-up, Judge is right there. Some have had the captain title and failed to fulfill the duties, Judge does it without the credit of the C (though the Yankees should make that official now).
He was a perfect player and person in 2022, never showing any frustration and always keeping his cool. You might suggest there was nothing to be unhappy about, but there are always a lot of ups and down in a 162-game season, even a personally historic one. Judge didn’t even enunciate his unhappiness over the Yankees’ decision to reveal their spring offer until Tuesday in a Time magazine article that was well-timed for him.
Judge handles disappointments and slights like almost no one else. Something tells me Yankees fans wouldn’t have handled it as well had he gone home to California, and I wouldn’t have blamed them for any reaction.