Aaron Judge reaches nine-year, $360 million agreement with Yankees

After a chaotic 24 hours of rumors, it appears that Aaron Judge is staying put in the Bronx.

Per Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the reigning American League MVP has reached a nine-year, $360 million deal with the New York Yankees.

According to Morosi’s report, indications are that Judge was offered more money elsewhere, but the outfielder is staying with the team that drafted him back in 2013.

Sources: Aaron Judge is in agreement with the #Yankees. @MLBNetwork @MLB

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 7, 2022

Shortly following the news of Judge’s intentions, Jeff Passan of ESPN stated that Judge flew into San Diego on Tuesday night to decide between three teams–the Yankees, the San Francisco Giants, and the San Diego Padres, before New York upped its offer to $360 million.

Part of Judge’s agreement with the Yankees would also make him the team’s first captain since Derek Jeter last donned the pinstripes in 2014.

The baseball world was set on fire during the Winter Meetings on Tuesday afternoon as MLB Network’s Jon Heyman shared the news that Judge “appeared to be heading to the Giants.” Just seven minutes later, Heyman retracted his report of Judge heading to the Bay Area as many around the league were engulfed in a wave of confusion.

It seemed as if the Northern California native Judge was leaning towards the Giants over the past several weeks, but in the end, the All-Star gets the contract he was looking for from the Yankees.

San Francisco will now pivot towards the other big names that are still out there on the free agent market, such as shortstop Carlos Correa and familiar face Carlos Rodon, but there is no doubt that Judge’s spurn is the latest sting to a franchise that is in the process of seeking a top-shelf talent.

Judge, who has played for the New York since the 2016 season, set a new American League record with 62 home runs in 2022. The 30-year-old hit .311 and drove in 131 runs while also leading all of Major League Baseball in runs (133), on-base percentage (.425), slugging percentage (.686), OPS (1.111), and total bases (391).

The four-time All-Star and Rookie of the Year award winner grew up just 47 miles away from Sacramento in Linden, where he was a three-sport standout at Linden High School in baseball, basketball, and football. After being heavily recruited to college football as a tight end, Judge chose the route of baseball and attended California State University, Fresno, from 2010 through 2013.

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