The New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants are currently going blow for blow regarding Aaron Judge’s contract. The Bombers had given Judge an eight-year, $300 million offer, but the Giants responded with their own lucrative offer.
San Francisco is preparing to cough up around $360 million for Judge over 8–9 years, which would be a substantial increase in salary compared to the Yankees’ proposal. In fact, it could rule out general manager Brian Cashman altogether, as it seems they don’t want to break the $40 million benchmark.
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.
Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
The Yankees are playing defense with Aaron Judge’s deal:
For a player that just set the single-season home run record and got on base at nearly 43%, he’s worth every penny of a big deal, especially since any health concerns are in the past.
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The Yankees currently have $203 million in projected total payroll, giving them about $60 million until they reach their 2022 payroll number. Ultimately, Hal Steinbrenner must be willing to push into the second luxury tax threshold, which would accrue a 42.5% sub-charge. If the Yanks really want Judge, they also need to continue spending and bolstering the roster elsewhere, which is clear based on their interest in starting pitcher Carlos Rodon.
With the Giants increasing their bid over and over again, their aggression could send the Yankees off the Judge trail. The tax implications are moot, given California and New York have some of the highest taxes in the country.
At this point, the Yankees have to be losing faith they can retain their best player and arguably the best player in baseball, which is a crushing reality.