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The Yankees got their man, the man they had to have. Aaron Judge is the one who saved their 2022 season, and now Aaron Judge has helped them save their offseason. Can you imagine where the Yankees would be without Judge? Thankfully, now they — and all their fans — don’t have to.
The deal for Judge was the right one, logical and fair. He gets $360 million over nine years, an even $40 million a year. And unlike many of the contracts we’ve heard about this winter – especially for pitchers – it is a deal that makes sense.
Judge, 30, is the highest-paid position player in the game now, as he should be. He is not only the face of the most storied franchise but the face of baseball. Beyond being the best position player in the game, Judge is the best marketing man as well (tied with Shohei Ohtani), selling jerseys and more by the truckload, via his on-field exploits.
Better yet, he wins games. The WAR stat suggested he was about an 11-win player in 2022, when he carried the Yankees on his back for a half a season. That figure doesn’t do him much justice. While most of the other main everyday Yankees were hobbled or slumping for months, Judge put together a season for the ages in that amazing second half alone.
The Yankees absolutely had to have him, and they knew it. When a couple false reports started to circulate (including one by me on Twitter) it appeared he was heading to the Giants, folks in the Yankees room said it was “like a morgue” in their room, which is understandable. Sorry about that.
The Yankees had an offer in for eight years and $320 million.
