Even before the games got underway in the 2022 Major League Baseball season, Aaron Judge was poised to break the bank this winter.
But after putting together one of the best campaigns in big league history, the superstar slugger is going to cost even more for teams that are interested in his services.
For a column published Tuesday, ESPN MLB insider Kiley McDaniel polled 14 league executives, agents and insiders to gauge Judge's value with free agency right around the corner. Nearly three-quarters of the bunch predicted which team will sign Judge, who would have won the American League triple crown if the season ended Tuesday night.
"And even more interesting, of the nine respondents to project a team Judge will end up with, four said he will stay with the Yankees, two have him going to the Mets, two said the Giants and one said the Giants or Dodgers," McDaniel wrote.
As for actual contract predictions, the figures ranged from $259 million over seven years to a 10-year pact worth $375 million. All told, it's anyone's guess what will happen with Judge once the World Series is in the rearview mirror and franchises start reaching for their checkbooks.
