On the 30-year anniversary of the Giants landing Barry Bonds in free agency, they’re making a strong push for another reigning MVP outfielder: Aaron Judge.
San Francisco, according to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman, offered Judge a contract in the neighborhood of $360 million. That total would blow the Yankees’ starting offer of reportedly eight years, $300 million out of the water.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that it will take a nine-year contract to sign Judge. If San Francisco’s $360 million offer is in fact over nine years, the $40 million average annual value would break the record among position players.
Judge broke the single-season American League record with 62 home runs last season. He led MLB in homers, runs, RBI, OPS and WAR.
Judge met with the Giants the week of Thanksgiving. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi told reporters at the winter meetings that talks with the Linden, CA native are ongoing.
“Those conversations are continuing,” Zaidi told reporters, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “We’re just trying to put our best foot forward. The process continues, but obviously we have really, really strong interest and we thought it was a really productive visit.”
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner has said that he wants to keep Judge in Yankee pinstripes for the rest of his career. It’s quite possible the Yankees will match any offer Judge receives.
But $360 million means the Giants are as serious as anyone.