With an American League pennant hanging in the balance (and a World Series to follow, should they make it that far), the Yankees shouldn’t be worrying about next year, but it’s hard not to with Aaron Judge headed for free agency in a few short weeks, a decision that looms over the club like a black cloud of impending doom. The Yankees have no one to blame but themselves, failing to lock up Judge before Opening Day, only for the All-Star slugger to raise his price tag considerably with one of the great offensive seasons in major-league history.
Judge’s decision to bet on himself will soon pay off handsomely with many anticipating a payday in the range of $300 million. While the Yankees are still viewed as slight favorites in the upcoming Judge sweepstakes, Steve Cohen will be plenty to motivated to make a splash move this offseason, if only to win back public opinion after seeing his beloved Mets crash and burn in the playoffs.
The Mets managed all of one hit in their Wild Card loss to the Padres’ Sunday night, underscoring their need for offense, particularly in the power department with only Pete Alonso emerging as a consistent home-run threat. Paying an arm and a leg for Judge would go a long way toward fixing that deficiency, though unless Cohen is willing to go above and beyond the league’s luxury tax, it would also, in all likelihood, preclude them from re-signing Jacob deGrom, who has every intention of declining his player option for 2023.
Maybe that’s for the best. The Mets, you could argue, already filled their quota for aging right-handers who can’t stay healthy when they backed up the Brink’s truck for Max Scherzer last offseason. Which begs the question—if the Mets are willing to let the former Cy Young winner walk, would the Yankees then rush to sign him, effectively trading Judge for deGrom? Insider Mark Feinsand sees that as a distinct possibility, presenting a scenario where deGrom could realistically land with the Yankees if negotiations go south with Judge.
“His ability to handle the New York spotlight isn’t in question, which can be a big issue for the Yankees when considering free agents,” Feinsand opined on MLB.com earlier this week. “The Yankees figure to make Judge their No. 1 priority, but if they lose the slugger, anything can happen at that point, including the idea of pairing deGrom with Gerrit Cole atop the rotation.”
Judge abandoning the Yankees for his hometown Giants or, worse, defecting to the Mets, would be devastating, though, if it comes to that, deGrom wouldn’t be the worst consolation prize, fortifying a rotation that, outside of ace Gerrit Cole, is littered with question marks top to bottom. These ambitious hypotheticals don’t often materialize, but if “Hot Stove” season isn’t for dreaming, what is it for?
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