As the Yankees season ended Sunday, the Aaron Judge rumor mill soon got underway.
Judge said immediately after the season ended that “we’ll see what happens” with regards to his free agency. “I’ve been clear about that since I first wore the pinstripes,” he said.
Now, new reporting from MLB.com‘s Mark Feinsand says that the Los Angeles Dodgers could be “serious players” for the inevitably 2022 AL MVP.
In that scenario, Feinsand says, Mookie Betts–their MVP and Gold Glove right fielder–would be open to moving to second base. Betts was drafted as an infielder and has occasionally logged innings at second when Dodgers lineups call for it.
Judge joining the Dodgers would obviously be an embarrassment-of-riches scenario, but it’s not out of the question. They’ve shown a willingness to spend big money on the best guys, starting with Betts and leading into Freddie Freeman. And, as Feinsand points out, the Dodgers have money coming off the payroll between Trea Turner, Joey Gallo, Craig Kimbrel, and, potentially, Justin Turner. That could free up money to bring in Judge without the team spending more than it did in 2022, when they won 111 games.
Judge will be the top free agent on the market this offseason. Only a handful of teams can afford him. Three of them are the Yankees, Dodgers and Mets. The 30-year-old declined a total of $230 million over eight years before the 2022 season. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Judge’s eventual contract to be worth an extra $100 million after betting on himself this year. He hit 62 home runs, knocked in 133 runs and had a 1.111 OPS (.425 OBP, .684 SLG) while putting an insane 11.5 fWAR while playing center field a majority of the time.
