Update: Aaron Judge opted to resign with the New York Yankees.
Baseball's home run king—no, not that one—could be on the verge of signing a massive contract with the San Francisco Giants.
Aaron Judge, a massive 30-year-old center fielder who’s spent his entire career with the New York Yankees and crushed a league-leading 62 home runs this past season, is reportedly considering a $360 million offer from the team he rooted for as a kid.
Jon Heyman, of the New York Post, tweeted about the contract offer Tuesday while cautioning that the Yankees remain the frontrunner to resign the free agent.
Giants are in with a big offer to Judge — believed to be $360M neighborhood — but the assumption/belief among rivals is that the Yankees remain favorites. Yankees are hopeful but say they still don’t know.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 6, 2022
The potential signing of Judge, a two-time American League MVP, would be a major score for the Giants.
San Francisco missed the playoffs last season, and they’ve only made two postseason appearances in the past eight years after ripping off three World Series titles in five seasons.
The club also hasn’t had a true power hitter of Judge’s caliber since Barry Bonds.
Judge, who is listed as 6-foot-7 and 280-plus pounds, was far and away the best player in baseball this year and nearly won the American League triple crown. He led all of Major League Baseball in home runs and runs batted in (131) while finishing second in the American League with a .311 batting average. His home run mark in 2022 was a record for an American League player.
Growing up outside of Stockton, Judge played high school ball at Linden High School before attending Fresno State. He reportedly promised his wife, Samantha Bracksieck, in high school that they would get married and he would play ball for the Giants.
Susan Slusser, the Giants writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, also tweeted Tuesday that there is a "rumbling" in the organization that Judge could soon be rocking the black and orange.
Also rumbling among Giants players and other personnel that Judge is coming aboard.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) December 6, 2022