The New York Yankees have been fighting hard to re-sign Aaron Judge over the past few months, and their efforts finally paid off early on Wednesday morning, as the Yankees managed to lock up Judge on a massive long-term deal. Judge's contract officially came in at nine years, $360 million, which is one of the biggest deals in MLB history.
Judge, who is coming off one of the best hitting seasons in the history of the league, put himself in a prime position to earn a massive deal, and boy did he earn a massive deal. Only Mike Trout and Mookie Betts have scored bigger deals in the league's history, and both of their contracts are for 12 years rather than Judge's nine.
The Yankees have achieved their prime offseason objective by re-signing Judge, but the work doesn't end there. New York has to continue to rebuild their roster around him now that he's onboard. So with that in mind, let's take a look at three moves the Yanks need to make now that they have secured Judge's future.
3. Sign Chris Bassitt
While Judge was contemplating his future, the Yankees missed out on some of the big secondary free agent targets behind him. Justin Verlander and Jacob deGrom would have been ideal additions to their rotation, but they have already signed with the New York Mets and Texas Rangers, respectively. That doesn't mean New York should avoid the starting pitcher market entirely, though.
The Yankees also just lost one of their middle of the rotation arms in Jameson Taillon, who ended up signing with the Chicago Cubs. New York's rotation already needed help after they traded away Jordan Montgomery at the trade deadline, which should lead them to pursue Chris Bassitt. Bassitt isn't the flashiest name available, but he's exactly what the Yankees need.
Rather than pursue Carlos Rodon, who will be extremely expensive, the Yankees could slide in and add Bassitt to fill the same role he filled last season with the Mets. Bassitt was the anchor of the Mets rotation (15-9, 3.42 ERA, 167 K, 1.15 WHIP) behind deGrom and Max Scherzer, and he could fill that same role for the Yankees behind Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes. Saving money when you can is going to be crucial now, which is why pursuing Bassitt makes a lot of sense.
2. Trade for Bryan Reynolds
The Yankees don't exactly have money to burn anymore with Judge re-signing, so that makes exploring the trade market a top priority for them moving forward. One potential trade target who has popped up recently is Bryan Reynolds, who requested a trade off of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pittsburgh doesn't seem interested in moving Reynolds, but he's exactly what the Yankees need.
Reynolds has been one of the only players keeping the Pirates relevant in recent seasons, and he is coming off another strong campaign in 2022 (.262 BA, 27 HR, 62 RBI, .807 OPS). Reynolds would immediately fill a key position of need for New York in the outfield, as the Yankees struggled to get any sort of production from outfielders not named Aaron Judge last season.
Trading for Reynolds would help allow the Yankees to attack other positions in free agency, while also giving them a talented outfielder who fits Judge's timeline. New York isn't going to be able to rinse and repeat their team from last season and make it to the World Series. Bringing back Judge is nice, but now it's time to make upgrades, and adding Reynolds would certainly be quite an upgrade to their outfield.
1. Sign Carlos Correa
Of course, the Yankees next big move is the move that everyone is waiting for. And while it may not exactly be the most realistic move for New York to make in the aftermath of Judge signing, adding Carlos Correa in free agency could be the signing that immediately puts New York in the conversation for a legitimate World Series contender.
Correa is part of the star studded shortstop group to hit free agency this offseason, and he may actually be the best of the bunch. Correa had a strong 2022 campaign with the Minnesota Twins (.291 BA, 22 HR, 64 RBI, .834 OPS) and opted to hit free agency again after just signing with the Twins last offseason in an attempt to maximize his earnings.
The Yankees, despite their commitment to Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Josh Donaldson, need to upgrade the left side of their infield. Adding Correa to replace Kiner-Falefa would be a huge upgrade, and while it may cost them a pretty penny, sometimes you have to spend above your means to be a World Series contender in the MLB. If the Yankees really are committed to winning, making a move for Correa will be at the top of their to-do list with Judge back in town.
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