Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports that Aaron Judge is in agreement to return to the Yankees.
It's a nine-year deal worth $360 million, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Judge apparently had similar or even better offers on the table from the Giants and Padres -- at least in terms of overall guaranteed dollars -- but he'll ultimately head back to the Bronx on a new nine-year pact that runs through his age-39 campaign at an average annual value of $40 million. Remember that he turned down a seven-year, $213.5 million ($30.5 million AAV) extension from the Yankees in the spring. Judge went on to set a new single-season AL home run record (62) in 2022 en route to being named American League MVP for the first time in his career. He slashed .311/.425/.686 across his 696 total plate appearances, falling just short of becoming the first Yankees player to win the Triple Crown since Mickey Mantle in 1956. Judge bet on himself and won big with the richest free agent contract in MLB history.
The Padres were preparing an offer to Judge that’d have reached or exceeded $400M over a whopping 14-year term. MLB vetoing a record-breaking contract would’ve made for a fascinating story.