MLB Rumors: Top 5 Suitors For Aaron Judge; Dodgers "Serious Players"

As soon as the World Series is done, several other teams will be joining the New York Yankees in a monumental task: sign Aaron Judge.

The new all-time single-season HR record holder and franchise player in the Bronx will be a free agent, and he'll be looking for one of the biggest contracts in MLB history.

Which teams are the most likely to sign the 30-year-old superstar? Here's a look at those at the top of the list:

New York Yankees

Ok, this one is obvious. He's spent his entire 7-year career in Pinstripes, and no one can handle the Bronx crowd like Judge. He really wants to come back, but will the front office pony up with with the massive long-term deal it'll take? Their $213M offer in spring training was laughable, and now it might take close to double that.

San Francisco Giants

This team is the Yankees' biggest threat. They've been searching for a face of the franchise ever since Buster Posey retired; they've got money to burn (only $70M in payroll committed for 2023); and yes, Judge grew up in The Bay area.

According to Mark Feinsand of mlb.com, "ask almost anybody inside the game which team could pry Judge away from the Bronx and the first answer is usually the Giants."

My inside #SFGiants’ source FWIW just texted me “90-95% Aaron Judge will be on the Giants next year.” 👀
— Larry Krueger (@sportslarryk) October 20, 2022

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers are always expected to be in on a superstar that is available. But in this case, according to Feinsand, "according to sources, the Dodgers could become serious players" in the Judge sweepstakes. This would necessitate a position change, however, for another of their superstars.

New York Mets

According to MLB Network Analyst and former MLB GM Steve Phillips, if the Mets were to sign Judge "it would be a declaration of war!" He even goes so far as to say that if that were to happen, the Yankees would go out and steal Jacob deGrom from the Mets.

Certainly, owner Steve Cohen has the cash, it just remains to be seen if he'll throw down the gauntlet.

Boston Red Sox

Yes, the Red Sox are kind of busy this offseason with their own problems: re-signing free agent shortstop Xander Bogaerts and extending superstar third baseman Rafael Devers. But we reported just last month that the Red Sox will be "aggressive" in going after Judge.

According to @Marino_Pepen the #RedSox will go after Aaron Judge after the season. His sources tell him they will be aggressive trying to lock him in. pic.twitter.com/gT8IN87yhM
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) September 14, 2022