MLB Insider Reveals How Aaron Judge Chose The Yankees

The entire New York Yankees fanbase let out a collective sigh of relief Wednesday morning.

Aaron Judge, the reigning American League MVP and top free agent on the market, chose to re-sign with the Yankees.

The 30-year-old agreed to a nine-year, $360 million contract that will take him through the 2031 season.

Judge made history with the Yankees in 2022, hitting 62 home runs and setting an all-time American League single-season record that had once belonged to Yankee great Roger Maris.

After the slugger hit the free agent market, the sweepstakes appeared to be down to just a few teams, with his hometown San Francisco Giants being among them.

The San Diego Padres had also made him an offer.

On Twitter, Jeff Passan revealed the process Judge went through on Tuesday in order to remain a Yankee.

Aaron Judge flew into San Diego at the last minute to decide among three teams: the New York Yankees, the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres. The Yankees bumped their offer to nine years and $360 million, and in the end, Judge decided he wanted to remain a Yankee.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 7, 2022

All Rise

Of course, there were some who thought that Judge was headed to the Giants, especially when MLB Network’s Jon Heyman jumped the gun and said that they were close to landing the AL MVP.

Needless to say, that tweet has been deleted.

But Judge had one goal in mind when he traveled to San Diego, and that was to choose between the Yankees, Giants, and Padres.

Fortunately for the Yankees, they had the financial flexibility to bump their offer up to $360 million.

Ultimately, it came down to Judge wanting to remain a Yankee.

And so, Judge got his wish and so did the entirety of the Yankees fanbase.

Now, the reigning MVP will look to defend his title.