Free agent slugger Aaron Judge will continue to call the Bronx home for the foreseeable future. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Judge has agreed to return to the New York Yankees on a nine-year, $360 million contract.
Source confirms: Aaron Judge in agreement with Yankees, nine years, $360M. First: @JonMorosi.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 7, 2022
The deal will pay the superstar $40 million per season, the highest annual salary ever awarded to a position player. Judge’s total contract trails only Mike Trout ($426.5 million) and Mookie Betts ($365 million) for the largest in baseball history. The 30-year-old famously turned down a seven-year, $213 million deal with the Yankees before the start of the 2022 regular season, electing to bet on himself ahead of free agency.
Needless to say, that decision proved to be the correct one. Judge enjoyed a season for the ages in 2022, slashing .311/.425/.686 with an AL record of 62 home runs en route to capturing his first career MVP award.
While the Yankees had serious competition from the San Francisco Giants, general manager Brian Cashman and company can breathe easy knowing they’ve locked up their franchise player long-term.
FanDuel Sportsbook currently has the Yankees holding the third-best World Series odds at +900.