Judge to stay with Yankees, agrees to $360M, 9-year deal
Aaron Judge has issued his ruling: Court remains in session in the Bronx.
Judge is staying with the New York Yankees on a $360 million, nine-year contract, according to a person familiar with baseball’s biggest free agent deal ever.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because the AL MVP’s contract had not been announced.
Judge, who hit an American League record 62 homers last season, will earn $40 million per year, the highest average annual payout for a position player. The contract trails only Mike Trout’s $426.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels and Mookie Betts’ $365 million pact with the Los Angeles Dodgers for biggest in baseball history. Trout and Betts were already under contract when they signed those deals.
The Yankees made a longterm offer to Judge before last season that was worth $213.5 million over seven years from 2023-29. But the outfielder turned it down in the hours before opening day in April.
The 6-foot-7 Judge bet on himself — and won.
Judge surpassed Roger Maris’ AL home run mark to power New York to an AL East title. He also tied for the major league lead with 131
RBIs and just missed a Triple Crown with a .311 batting average.
In other moves
■ Red Sox: Veteran closer Kenley Jansen has agreed to a $32 million, two-year deal with the Boston Red Sox, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press. The 35-year-old Jansen went 5-2 with a 3.38 ERA in 64 innings for the Atlanta Braves this year. The three-time All-Star led the National League with 41 saves.
■ Cardinals: The St. Louis Cardinals have reached a deal with veteran free agent catcher Willson Contreras,
sources confirm to the Post-Dispatch. The deal is valued at $87.5 million over a term of five years.
Last season, Contreras hit .243 with 22 home runs and drove home 55 RBIs in 113 games for the Cubs.
■ Phillies: The active Philadelphia Phillies added Taijuan Walker to their rotation on Tuesday, agreeing to a $72 million, four-year contract with the right-hander. The 30-year-old Walker went 12-5 with a 3.49 ERA in 29 starts this season for the New York Mets.
■ Guardians: First basemen
Josh Bell agreed to a $33 million, two-year contract with Cleveland on Tuesday. Bell played for Washington and San Diego last season, batting .266 with 17 homers and 71 RBIs in 156 games.
■ Cubs: Cody Bellinger reached a $17.5 million, oneyear deal with the Chicago Cubs. Bellinger, the 2019 NL MVP, was cut by the Los Angeles Dodgers on Nov. 18 after the 27-year-old outfielder hit .210 with 19 homers, 150 strikeouts and a .654 OPS in 144 games.