The New York Yankees went down to the canvas on Tuesday, and appeared to be knocked out by the San Francisco Giants in their race to sign Aaron Judge.
They beat the count, fought back, and delivered the knockout blow themselves on Wednesday morning: they secured the AL MVP’s signature for nine years and $360 million.
But enough of boxing talk.
Let’s discuss how the Yanks made it happen.
They were behind in the race as of Tuesday night, but the Yankees came back with an improved offer.
Here is how it all occurred.
“Yankees were at $320M for 8 as recently as a day or two ago. Once Judge told Hal Steinbrenner he wanted to be a Yankee (but had more $ on table elsewhere — SF and SD) Hal sealed the deal by bumping it another $40M and one year,” MLB insider Jon Heyman tweeted.
Yankees were at $320M for 8 as recently as a day or two ago. Once Judge told Hal Steinbrenner he wanted to be a Yankee (but had more $ on table elsewhere — SF and SD) Hal sealed the deal by bumping it another $40M and one year.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 7, 2022
Judge Had Better Offers On The Table
Judge had a massive offer from the San Diego Padres, and the Giants’ offer was also believed to be better than the Yankees’.
Once the Yankees agreed to go to a ninth year at the same salary, that was the game-clincher for them.
It wasn’t quite a hometown discount, but Judge forfeited even more money to re-sign in the Bronx.
That’s clearly significant and should serve as proof of his commitment to win with the Yankees and not anywhere else.
Judge, 30, should be highly productive for at least the first half of the deal.
There could potentially be some ugly years at the end, but by then, he should have justified the investment.
It was a deal the Yankees needed to make to remain relevant in 2023 and beyond.
NEXT: Aaron Judge Is Making A Shocking Amount Of Money Per Minute
