SAN DIEGO — Aaron Judge agreed to return to the New York Yankees early Wednesday morning on a landmark nine-year, $360 million contract, but only after a last-minute push from a surprise entrant in the sweepstakes for the free-agent slugger — the San Diego Padres.
Judge’s deal, which is pending a physical, gives him the highest average annual value for a position player in major-league history, shattering Mike Trout’s previous mark of $35.5 million by almost $5 million. The deal is two years longer and worth $146.5 million more than the seven-year, $213.5 million extension offer Judge rejected from the Yankees at the end of spring training.
Judge, who turns 31 on April 26, shot up his value by putting together baseball’s all-time best walk year, hitting 62 home runs to break the American League single-season record. He will now be tied to the Yankees through his age-39 season. He is expected to become the team’s captain as part of the agreement, which ensures he likely will retire wearing the only uniform he has ever known.
The Giants made a strong push for Judge, and at one point Tuesday appeared to be gaining momentum in their efforts to sign him. Seeking to add a big-name slugger, they are now expected to pursue one of the remaining three shortstops on the free-agent market — Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts or Dansby Swanson.
The Padres struck out Monday on Trea Turner, but as so often is the case under general manager A.J. Preller, were not ready to stop swinging. Club officials met face-to-face with Aaron Judge on Tuesday night at Petco Park in San Diego, four sources briefed on the matter told The Athletic. However, it is believed they never got the chance to make a formal bid.
A sitdown with Judge signaled that Preller and owner Peter Seidler were seriously considering the pivot of all pivots. Before Turner agreed to a $300 million deal with the Phillies, the Padres offered the shortstop a $342 million guarantee spread out over at least 11 years, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions. Now that they have lost out on Judge, they could embark upon a more serious pursuit of Bogaerts, in whom industry sources say Preller maintains interest.
Judge, however, represented a better fit for the Padres than Bogaerts or Turner. Signing him would give San Diego arguably the most star-powered outfield in baseball, with the American League home-run king and Juan Soto patrolling the corners. It also would have allowed Fernando Tatis Jr. to stay in the infield once he returned from his suspension for performance-enhancing drugs on April 20, in some combination alongside Jake Cronenworth and Ha-Seong Kim.
The Padres would have become the first major-league team to carry three $300 million players — Judge, Tatis and Manny Machado. Instead, that distinction will go to the Yankees, who have pitcher Gerrit Cole on a nine-year, $324 million contract and Giancarlo Stanton on a 13-year, $325 million deal they acquired from the Marlins.
With Judge set to return, the Yankees intend to accelerate other free-agent pursuits. Left-hander Carlos Rodón, outfielder Andrew Benintendi and Japanese outfielder Matsataka Yoshida are among the players in whom they have interest. The team has already re-signed first baseman Anthony Rizzo and reached agreement with reliever Tommy Kahnle.
—The Athletic’s Andy McCullough contributed to this story
(Photo: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)