Ken Rosenthal on Twitter: “Deal is pending a physical.” / Twitter

Judge gets PAID!

Deal is pending a physical. https://t.co/ptJ08JyrGU

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 7, 2022

TIME 2022 Athlete of the Year: Aaron Judge

Judge—who at 6 ft. 7 in. and 282 lb. checks in as one of the most massive players in baseball history–slugged his 60th home run, tying Babe Ruth’s 1927 milestone, on Sept. 20, launching a 95-m.p.h. sinker deep into the left-center field bleachers. From there, the story got suspenseful. Over five home games and two more on the road in Toronto, Judge failed to tie Roger Maris’ American League record of 61. He began to press, and opposing pitchers, in no mood to become subjects of trivia questions for -generations, remained- reluctant to throw him strikes. Judge, however, locked in just in time. He tied Maris in Toronto on Sept. 28, and finally hit No. 62 on Oct. 4, a 391-ft. blast off Rangers pitcher Jesus Tinoco in the second-to-last game of the season. (Remember that name, for your sports-bar quiz night, circa 2041.)

The record chase boosted attendance, television ratings, and social media engagement down the stretch of the 2022 baseball season. ESPN even cut into college-football coverage to show potential record-breaking swings, interrupting sacrosanct Saturday-afternoon viewing routines. “That’s really good for the game,” Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred tells TIME. “When you cut into football, you’re hitting people that you might not otherwise get to.”

Rosenthal: Aaron Judge’s contract likely to be for nine years, sources say - The Athletic $

Are teams going to nine years to lower the AAV or adding another year to raise the pot?

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.

A nine-year deal for Judge, who turns 31 on April 26, would take him through his Age 39 season. The Yankees might need to decide if they are comfortable offering that long a contract to retain their star outfielder. Judge, in turn, might face a decision about whether he wants to leave the Yankees for one extra guaranteed year.

Aaron Judge rumors

IT’S BEEN REPORTED!

The Yankees have indeed upped their offer to the face of their franchise. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan (subscription required), New York has offered Judge a contract “in the neighborhood of eight years and $300 million and could increase it, depending on how far the San Francisco Giants—the other top suitor—are willing to push the market.”

An eight-year, $300 million deal carries an annual average value of $37.5 million, which would be the highest in the sport for any position player. Mike Trout currently holds the top spot with an AAV of $35.5 million.

Mets, Yankees cleared in Aaron Judge collusion inquiry

Well, if MLB says there is no collusion, there can’t be any collusion. Right? RIGHT?

Aaron Judge, the biggest free agent on the market this winter, isn’t considered a victim of collusion between the Mets and Yankees — from MLB’s perspective — following an inquiry by the Commissioner’s Office into the matter.

MLB has notified the MLBPA that the Mets and Yankees didn’t suppress the market for Judge, sources confirmed Tuesday, following an SNY report this month that indicated the Mets wouldn’t pursue the All-Star outfielder out of deference to their crosstown rival. Time.com first reported MLB’s decision.

If the players’ association believes Judge has been wronged it can still file a grievance that would be heard by an arbitrator. A spokesman for the MLBPA declined comment. An MLB spokesman also declined comment.

MLB reviewed communications between the teams in reaching its conclusion there wasn’t collusion.

The Athletic: MLB investigating whether Mets, Yankees communicated improperly about Aaron Judge: Sources [$]

Major League Baseball is investigating whether comments attributed to Mets sources about the team’s reluctance to pursue free-agent outfielder Aaron Judge constitute a violation of baseball’s collective bargaining agreement.

An article published on the Mets’ television network’s web site Nov. 3 said the Mets would not bid against the Yankees for Judge. Details in the story caught the attention of the Players Association, which asked the Commissioner’s Office to investigate whether improper communication occurred between the respective owners of the clubs, according to sources briefed on the situation….

Recent CBAs specifically prohibit the sharing of information on player contracts, saying, “Players shall not act in concert with other Players and Clubs shall not act in concert with other Clubs.” The league in its investigation is expected to request that Mets owner Steve Cohen and Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner provide records of any phone, text and email conversations that took place between them during the period in question.

MLB investigating whether Mets, Yankees communicated improperly about Aaron Judge: Sources - The Athletic

Major League Baseball is investigating whether comments attributed to Mets sources about the team’s reluctance to pursue free-agent outfielder Aaron Judge constitute a violation of baseball’s collective bargaining agreement.

An article published on the Mets’ television network’s web site Nov. 3 said the Mets would not bid against the Yankees for Judge. Details in the story caught the attention of the Players Association, which asked the Commissioner’s Office to investigate whether improper communication occurred between the respective owners of the clubs, according to sources briefed on the situation.

A separate comment by Astros owner Jim Crane on his team’s web site Tuesday, saying Justin Verlander was seeking a contract similar to Max Scherzer’s, also could prompt scrutiny from the Players Association if the union perceives it be a violation of the CBA.
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Recent CBAs specifically prohibit the sharing of information on player contracts, saying, “Players shall not act in concert with other Players and Clubs shall not act in concert with other Clubs.” The league in its investigation is expected to request that Mets owner Steve Cohen and Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner provide records of any phone, text and email conversations that took place between them during the period in question.

The SNY.tv article stated the Mets’ position on Judge had not changed since April, when team sources said the club would not fight the Yankees for the outfielder if he became a free agent during the offseason. The article also said Cohen and Steinbrenner “enjoy a mutually respectful relationship, and do not expect to upend that with a high-profile bidding war.”

Officials from MLB and the Players Association declined to comment, and the Mets, Yankees and Astros did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Could Betts move to 2B if LA signs Judge?

According to sources, the Dodgers could become serious players in this offseason’s Aaron Judge sweepstakes, a move that would potentially result in a position change for Betts, a six-time All-Star outfielder.

Should the Dodgers decide to let the likes of Trea Turner, Justin Turner (club option), Craig Kimbrel and Joey Gallo (among others), leave as free agents, they could have roughly $100 million coming off the payroll, giving them ample space to make a bid for Judge.

Judge started 74 games in center field, 54 in right field and 25 as a designated hitter this season, but he has spent the vast majority of his time in the Majors playing right field. While Judge—who turns 31 in April—could potentially take over in center field and play next to Betts, it seems unlikely that he would do so for more than a year or two given the toll the position can take physically.

Betts has been the Dodgers’ everyday right fielder since he joined the team in 2020, but the 30-year-old was drafted as a second baseman and, according to a source, would be open to a move back to the infield at some point during his career.

If the Dodgers were to sign Judge, that could hasten such a move.

Agents, execs estimate the monstrous contract awaiting Aaron Judge

Yankees superstar Aaron Judge won the bet on himself, and won big. The consensus seems to be that the baseline deal Judge will get this winter is $300 million — or $86.5 million more than the Yankees offered in spring. And he may well get more.

Judge was seeking in spring to be in line with Mike Trout’s $36 million annual salary, according to sources, and now the early hints are that the Yankees may accede to his original asking price, and perhaps go even a bit higher. Some suggest he could even threaten Trout’s record $360 million total deal — though if he does, that may have to be elsewhere. The $300 million mark seems to be a more common guess (four agent guesses are below) but some see it going higher.

“He certainly will clear $300 million. But is he closer to $400 million than $300 million? Maybe,” one rival executive says. “He’s that important to the wealthiest team.”

The current belief is that the Yankees prefer not to go to $40 million a year — or certainly not to $400 million total for Judge, who is 30, as they recall the lengthy deals for 30-somethings Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols, and certainly their own Alex Rodriguez. The Yankees envision the main competition coming from the Giants and maybe the Cubs and Dodgers (though LA is known to prefer shorter deals at higher AAVs; Bryce Harper didn’t go for that when they tried $160 million for four). But of course, you never know in free agency.

Twins’ Luis Arraez tops Aaron Judge as AL batting champion

- Luis Arraez won the AL batting title, hitting a third-inning double after walking twice to finish the season at .316, and the Minnesota Twins rolled to a 10-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.

Arraez was all but assured of topping the Yankees’ Aaron Judge for the batting crown when the day began. He removed any doubt by walking in his first two plate appearances and then hit a drive that barely cleared the glove of right fielder Gavin Sheets before he was lifted for a pinch-runner.

“It’s amazing,” Arraez said. “This was one of my goals. I’m living a dream right now. This is amazing for me because I worked hard for this.”

Judge, who sat out the Yankees’ season finale, batted .311 with an AL-record 62 homers and a league-leading 131 RBIs.

“I couldn’t sleep last night, just thinking and thinking about it,” Arraez said.

Arraez, 25, became the fifth Twin to win a batting title, joining Rod Carew (seven), Tony Oliva and Joe Mauer (three apiece) and Kirby Puckett (one). His .316 average is the lowest for an AL batting champion since Boston’s Carl Yastrzemski at .301 in 1968.

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge launches 62nd home run, sets AL’s single-season record

The American League has a new single-season home run king.

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge launched his 62nd home run of the season Tuesday on the road against the Texas Rangers, breaking the AL’s record he shared with Roger Maris.

After depositing a Tim Mayza sinker into the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen to tie Maris’ mark last Wednesday, Judge went without a home run during the Yankees’ final regular season homestand—a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles. Back on the road, Judge who had gone 2 for 9 with two singles in two games against the Rangers through Game 1 of Tuesday’s doubleheader, took Texas pitcher Jesus Tinoco deep in the first inning of the nightcap to reach No. 62.

Roger Maris Jr. blasts MLB, says Aaron Judge’s potential 62nd home run should be single-season record

“I think it means a lot, not just for me, I think it means a lot for a lot of people,” he explained. “He’s clean, he’s a Yankee, he plays the game the right way. I think it gives people a chance to look at somebody who should be revered for hitting 62 home runs and not just as a guy who did it in the American League. He should be revered for being the actual single-season home run champ. That’s really who he is if he hits 62 and I think that’s what needs to happen. I think baseball needs to look at the records and I think baseball should do something.”

Maris has shared his opinion on the matter in the past as well, but MLB hasn’t expunged their record books of Bonds’ 73 home runs in 2001, as it still stands to be the number to beat in the regular season. All three players, though, haven’t been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge hits 61st home run of season, tying Roger Maris’ mark

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge hit his 61st home run of the season Wednesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays, tying Roger Maris’ American League record.

It took Maris until Oct. 1, the final game of the 1961 season, to hit his 61st, which broke Babe Ruth’s single-season mark of 60 home runs set in 1927.

Judge did it Sept. 28, in Game No. 155 for New York. A day after the Yankees clinched the American League East title, Judge, batting leadoff as the designated hitter, took Toronto’s Tim Mayza deep in the seventh inning with a runner on base. Judge—who walked in his first at-bat, popped out in his second and grounded out in his third—had gone seven games without a home run since managing a solo shot during New York’s 6-0 homestand.

He and the Yankees then headed to Toronto looking to make history at Rogers Centre. He went 1-for-3 with a single in the series opener Monday and walked four times in Tuesday’s division clincher, before ultimately launching the historic shot Wednesday in the Yankees’ 8-3 victory.

Yankees’ threat of sitting Aaron Judge finally ended long rain delay with Red Sox

ESPN pressured MLB officials to wait out an already long and particularly nasty rain delay between the Yankees and Red Sox at Yankee Stadium because the network was desperate to air Judge getting at least one more at-bat in his chase of 61 home runs, a person with knowledge of the situation told NJ Advance Media. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.

Throughout the delay, the Yankees and the Red Sox each lobbied the league to declare the game over as the forecast kept getting worse, the person said. But ESPN kept the pressure on.

But when the delay stretched past the customary 90 minutes given on getaway days, Yankees manager Aaron Boone became increasingly worried that if the teams were forced to continue to wait and then play on the soaked field, players could get hurt, another person told NJAM.

So, behind closed doors, Boone made it known that he was considering all options to keep his players safe — and that included the possibility of pulling Judge out of the game despite the fact he was the first batter to hit as the delay ended, the first person said.

And when that particular possibility — the threat of sitting Judge — reached league and ESPN executives, they moved quickly to end the delay at 1 hour, 38 minutes and the Yankees were declared 2-0 winners, the person said.