The Yankees have made it clear that their top objective this winter is to retain Aaron Judge, but if Judge decides to sign elsewhere, what is the franchise’s next step?
A complete rebuild? An immediate retool using the money they would have used to sign Judge?
Brian Cashman admittedly revealed at the Winter Meetings on Monday that he doesn’t know what the next plan would be, since he is focused on avoiding that dilemma and bringing Judge back to the Bronx.
“Listen, if Aaron Judge signs somewhere else, do we pivot and do something else? Do we remake ourselves completely? I have no idea,” Cashman said, via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “It’s not what we want to do.”
Some potential alternatives are already off the board, as both Justin Verlander and Trea Turner signed massive contracts on Monday with the Mets and Phillies, respectively. Cashman said he doesn’t expect Judge to go unsigned for most of the offseason like Bryce Harper and Manny Machado years ago, but a decision sooner than later would put the Yanks in a better position to either build around Judge, or build without him.
“The way this winter is going to play out,” Cashman said. “It could take us down a lot of different roads we didn’t expect.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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