NYY News: Nine years for Judge?

Dec 4, 2022 - 5:00 AM

MLB Trade Rumors | Mark Polishuk: Lots of teams have checked in, but three organizations have made their concrete interest in Aaron Judge public: the New York Yankees, the San Francisco Giants, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Since LA may only be interested in the event that Judge is up for a short-term, high AAV deal, the Yanks and Giants seem to be the favorites.

New York reportedly has an eight-year, $300 million offer on the table and are open to improve it. The Giants, however, could still offer him a longer deal. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, “it appears increasingly likely” that the reigning AL MVP will land nine guaranteed years.

If Judge gets nine years, the deal could potentially push $340 million. Will the Yankees go that far in negotiations for their superstar?

NY Post | Collin Loughran: As the Yankees look to strengthen the corner outfield position, well-rounded Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds could become an option now that he has requested a trade out of the Steel City.

According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, extension talks between the Pirates and Reynolds are “at an impasse” and the 2021 All-Star asked to be traded. The franchise, however, released a statement clarifying that “with three years remaining until he hits free agency, Bryan remains a key member of our team. We look forward to him having a great season for the Pirates.”

Stay tuned: As we recently discussed, Reynolds could be an instant upgrade for the Yankees lineup. The switch-hitter hit .262/.345/.461 with 27 home runs and a 125 wRC+ in 2022.

MLB Trade Rumors | Simon Hampton: One of the Yankees’ AL East foes, the Baltimore Orioles, made a sneaky good pickup and signed pitcher Kyle Gibson to a one-year deal, per Rosenthal. Starting pitching has been a priority for them since the season ended, and while the veteran didn’t have a particularly good campaign with a 5.05 ERA across 167.2 innings for the Phillies in 2022, he did have a 4.28 FIP and was an All-Star for the Rangers in 2021 before being dealt to Philly. He could be a nice backend option if he bounces back.

NJ Advance Media | Randy Miller, Brendan Kuty, Bob Klapisch: The Yankees are pretty much stuck with third baseman Josh Donaldson. The three beat writers discussed his potential future in the Bronx and what they can do to avoid entering the season with him at the hot corner.

Donaldson is clearly declining, he didn’t quite stay out of controversy, and he is owed $21 million next year. Miller even wonders if the Yanks could be willing to release him and enter 2023 with DJ LeMahieu as their third baseman, while Klapisch recommends adding a prospect or two or eating some salary on a trade. (For what it’s worth, Peter recently discussed why there probably isn’t much to gain from a straight dump of Donaldson.)