SAN DIEGO — Aaron Judge, his wife and some former and current teammates spent Monday night in a suite at Raymond James Stadium, not far from his home in Tampa, watching the Buccaneers face the Saints. Before the game, Judge appeared on the sidelines, and when a stadium camera beamed his face on the giant scoreboard, it described him as “#99, New York Yankees.”
Alas, No. 99 hasn’t signed yet with the Yankees. Or with anybody. That could change soon, with Judge planning to visit the MLB Winter Meetings at the Manchester Grand Hyatt on Tuesday (according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) before he heads for a trip to Hawaii.
Around the time Judge was watching the NFL, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was speaking to reporters. Judge was the topic that dominated the discussion.
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Here were the biggest takeaways:
Recent communication: Cashman said he had spoken with Judge’s agent, Page Odle of PSI Sports, as recently as Monday morning.
Back and forth: Cashman said the Yankees have made several offers to Judge, and that Judge’s camp has made counteroffers. That’s typically the sign of healthy dialogue. But Cashman said he didn’t have any idea as to whether the talks were coming to an end. “I’ve got no indication whether this is the ninth inning, the seventh inning, the fifth inning,” the GM said.
No final offer guarantee: Judge’s camp hasn’t told Cashman that the Yankees will be given an opportunity to match any final offer other teams might make. The Giants are seemingly the biggest threat to steal Judge from the Yankees. Judge met with Giants officials in San Francisco more than a week ago.
Won’t set a timer: While the Yankees are essentially waiting on Judge at this point, Cashman said they won’t set a deadline. “You could take a position like that,” Cashman said. “But the position we’re taking is that we’re trying to give him the time and the opportunity and the consideration to make the best decision for him and his family. I’m not putting a time frame on him as of today.” Cashman added, “I’m not doing that to this player. He’s too important to try to mess with like that.”
Judge’s involvement: Cashman said he and owner Hal Steinbrenner spoke with Judge on the phone the day after the Yankees lost in the American League Championship Series to the Astros. Since then, Cashman has only negotiated with Odle and others at PSI Sports. Steinbrenner has said that he’s met one-on-one with Judge, and Cashman said that the meeting happened in Tampa, where they both live.
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Aaron Boone’s take: Boone said he called Judge a little more than a week ago, and it was mostly just a friendly check in with some friendly nudging for Judge to finally make his decision. Boone said he won’t get his hopes up, even though it could be hard to imagine that Judge would leave all he’s got with the Yankees behind. “That’s the thing,” Boone said. “In my head, I could make a strong case and say, ‘No way that’s happening.’ But here we are. I know there’s going to be other opportunities for him, very attractive ones. So there’s that uncomfortableness I have with that unknown and uncertainty because it’s not a done deal yet. I can walk down that road of, ‘No, he can’t go,’ but free agency, you never know.”
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Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com.
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