Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times reported on Wednesday that the Tampa Bay Rays were willing to discuss a potential contract of approximately 10 years and $300 million with Aaron Judge following his standout 2022 season with the New York Yankees.
Judge expressed his surprise at Tampa Bay’s interest, particularly given their status as a divisional rival, a team he had spent his entire career strategizing against.
Originally from Linden, California, where he frequented San Francisco Giants games as a child, Judge also considered offers from the Giants and San Diego Padres after earning the American League Most Valuable Player Award in 2022. Ultimately, he chose to sign a nine-year, $360 million contract to remain with the Yankees and became the team’s 16th captain.
Judge appreciated the respect shown by the Rays in their offer and acknowledged their strong team and competitive spirit. However, the prospect of joining a long-time adversary was challenging due to his history of competing against them.
While it’s been rumored that New York Mets owner Steve Cohen may have had an informal agreement with Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner regarding Judge’s free agency, Tampa Bay’s pursuit of Judge through his agent, Paul Odle, remained relatively under the radar until mentioned by Bryan Hoch in his 2023 MLB website publication.
Reflecting on his free agency experience, Judge noted that interest from the Giants and Padres was somewhat expected, given their National League status and less frequent matchups against AL teams like the Yankees.
Despite the Yankees’ current struggles, there is no indication that Judge regrets his decision to commit his long-term future to the team during the Christmas 2022 offseason. It’s unlikely that Tampa Bay would have matched the offers from the Padres, Giants, and Yankees that Judge ultimately considered.