Judge returns to Yankees
SAN DIEGO — 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 publicly announced.
New York general manager Brian Cashman declined to confirm the agreement. But he said he was “optimistic that we're in a good place,” and he credited Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner for the team's position while making reference to Hal's late father, George.
“I've been here a long time,” said Cashman, who has been the Yankees' GM since 1998, “and I know how George Steinbrenner did business and how he went about doing business, in recruiting free agents and retaining free agents, and he was intimately involved. And I saw a lot of that in this process, too.”
Cashman said he didn't get any sleep Tuesday night. He texted with Judge, and Hal Steinbrenner and manager Aaron Boone spoke with the slugger on the phone.
“I wanted to talk to him and make sure he knew, certainly, how I felt about him, but how we felt about him, too,” Boone said.
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 long-term 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 while powering 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.
By rejecting the Yankees' preseason offer, Judge gained $146.5 million and an extra two guaranteed seasons. The Northern California native also visited with the San Francisco Giants last month, and there likely were more teams monitoring the market for the slugger who turns 31 in April.
Judge was selected by New York in the first round of the 2013 amateur draft and made his big league debut in 2016, homering in his first at-bat.
A year later, he was one of baseball's breakout stars. He hit .284 with 52 homers and 114 RBIS in 2017, winning the AL Rookie of the Year award. The four-time All-star has 220 homers and 497 RBIS in seven big league seasons.
The average annual value of Judge's deal trails only New York Mets pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, at
$43.3 million.
Cardinals land ex-cub Contreras
The St. Louis Cardinals have reached a deal with veteran free agent catcher Willson Contreras, sources confirmed. The deal is valued at $87.5 million over a term of five years and marks the largest free agent deal by the franchise for a player who was not previously a Cardinal.
The deal is pending a physical.
Contreras hit .243 with a .349 on-base percentage and a .466 slugging percentage this past season for the Cubs. He hit 22 home runs and drove home 55 RBIS in 113 games. Contreras started 72 games at catcher and saw 39 for the Cubs at designated hitter. In seven years with the Cubs, he started more than a 100 games at catcher only twice.
Quintana joins Mets’ rotation
The New York Mets and José Quintana agreed to a $26 million, two-year contract, adding another veteran arm to the team's rotation.
Three members of New York's rotation became free agents this offseason, and the Mets also had several openings in their bullpen.
Ace righthander Justin Verlander agreed to an $86.7 million, two-year
contract with New York on Monday. The Mets also acquired lefthanded reliever Brooks Raley in a trade with Tampa Bay on Wednesday.
Quintana played for Pittsburgh and St. Louis last season, going 6-7 with a 2.93 ERA in 32 starts. The left-hander was terrific after he was traded to the Cardinals in August, posting a 2.01 ERA in 12 appearances for the NL Central champions.
Red Sox sign closer Jansen
Veteran closer Kenley Jansen has agreed to a $32 million, two-year deal with the Boston Red Sox, a person familiar with the deal said.
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.
The righthander spent the previous 12 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, winning a World Series title in 2020.
Taillon decides to join Cubs
The Chicago Cubs reached an agreement with free agent pitcher Jameson Taillon on a four-year, $68 million deal.
Taillon, 31, is coming off one of the best seasons, going 14-5 with a 3.91 ERA for the Yankees.