Aaron Judge has officially heated up the Winter Meetings, agreeing to a nine-year, $360 million in free agency to remain with the New York Yankees. But while the Yankees were able to retain their star right fielder, they weren't the only team interested in the reigning AL MVP's services.
Judge decided to attend this year's Winter Meetings, a strange move for a player of his caliber. Once he arrived, Judge reportedly was deciding between three teams, per ESPN's Jeff Passan: the Yankees, San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres.
New York upped its offer to $360 million, helping bring Judge back to the franchise. It was a significant raise over the seven-year, $213.5 million contract that the Yankees offered to Judge prior to the season.
Judge put up historic numbers during the 2022 season, batting .311 with a league-high and Yankee record-breaking 62 home runs and 131 RBI, tied for the league high with the New York Mets' Pete Alonso. Simply put, Judge was considered the prize of this year's free agency class.
The San Francisco Giants' interest in Judge had been widespread. In fact, some reporters even prematurely reported that Judge was going to sign a deal with San Francisco. The Giants actually agreed to a deal with Mitch Haniger, but not Judge.
San Diego was a previously unknown destination for Judge. The team already made a splash at last year's trade deadline, landing fellow All-Star outfielder Juan Soto from the Washington Nationals. Adding Judge to a lineup that already includes Soto, Manny Machado and a returning Fernando Tatis would've given the Padres one of the most potent offenses in MLB.
In the end, Aaron Judge decided to stay home and continue building his Yankees legacy. In fact, he even turned down more money to return to New York, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network. With his bag in check, Judge will return to the Bronx, looking to continue carving his name in the Yankees' record books.
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