Free agent slugger Aaron Judge is coming off a 62-homer season in 2022 and the AL MVP award, and he boasts highly impressive career numbers both in terms of production and ball-tracking metrics. That's why Judge is expected to fetch around $300 million as this winter's most coveted free agent.
The incumbent Yankees are reported to have recently offered Judge an eight-year pact worth roughly $300 million, but according to Ken Rosenthal's sources that may not be enough to get it done:"The way the free-agent market for Aaron Judge is developing, it appears increasingly likely the winning bid will be for nine guaranteed years, sources involved in the negotiations say."As Rosenthal points out, such deal would lock up Judge through his age-39 season. He's much more than a "see ball, hit ball" slugger, but even with his elite athleticism there's some question as to how a player of Judge's immense physical dimensions will age. That said, sometimes you have to pay for the decline phase in order to get the tremendous near-term value that a superstar like Judge promises. It's looking like it'll take nine years in order to add the elite slugger to some team's lineup for 2023 and (far) beyond.
[
www.cbssports.com]
