SAN DIEGO — Aaron Judge agreed to return to the New York Yankees on Wednesday morning with a historic nine-year, $360 million contract, but only after a last-minute push from a surprise lottery entrant for the hitter free agent: the San Diego Padres.
Judge’s deal, which is pending a physical, gives him the highest average annual value for a position player in major league history, breaking Mike Trout’s previous mark of $35.5 million. dollars by nearly $5 million. The deal is two years longer and worth $146.5 million more than the seven-year, $213.5 million extension offer Judge rejected from the Yankees at the end of spring training.
Judge, who turns 31 on April 26, boosted his value by putting together baseball’s all-time best walk year, hitting 62 home runs to break the American League single-season record. He will now be bound for the Yankees through his age-39 season. He is expected to become the team’s captain as part of the deal, which ensures he will likely retire in the only uniform he has ever known.
The Giants made a strong push for Judge and at one point on Tuesday appeared to be gaining momentum in their efforts to sign him. With the goal of adding a big-name slugger, they are now expected to pursue one of the three remaining shortstops on the free agent market: Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts or Dansby Swanson.
The Padres pitched to Trea Turner on Monday, but as is often the case with general manager AJ Preller, they weren’t ready to stop swinging. Club officials met face-to-face with Aaron Judge on Tuesday night at Petco Park in San Diego, four sources briefed on the matter told The Athletic. However, it is believed that they never had the opportunity to make a formal offer.
A meeting with Judge indicated that Preller and owner Peter Seidler were seriously considering the pivot of all pivots. Before Turner agreed to a $300 million deal with the Phillies, the Padres offered the shortstop a guaranteed $342 million spread over at least 11 years, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions. Now that they’ve lost Judge, they could embark on a more serious pursuit of Bogaerts, who industry sources say Preller maintains interest in.
Judge, however, represented a better fit for the Padres than Bogaerts or Turner. Signing him would give San Diego arguably the most star-studded outfield in baseball, with AL King and Juan Soto patrolling the corners. It would also have allowed Fernando Tatis Jr. to remain on the field once he returns from his suspension for performance-enhancing drugs on April 20, in some combination alongside Jake Cronenworth and Ha-Seong Kim.
The Padres would have become the first major league team with three $300 million players: Judge, Tatis and Manny Machado. Instead, that distinction will go to the Yankees, who have pitcher Gerrit Cole on a nine-year, $324 million contract and Giancarlo Stanton on a 13-year, $325 million deal they acquired from the Marlins.
With Judge poised to return, the Yankees intend to accelerate other free agent pursuits. Left-hander Carlos Rodón, outfielder Andrew Benintendi and Japanese outfielder Matsataka Yoshida are among the players they have interest in. The team has already re-signed first baseman Anthony Rizzo and reached an agreement with reliever Tommy Kahnle.
—The Athletic’s Andy McCullough contributed to this story
(Photo: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)