There were a lot of rumors about Aaron Judge and his new contract talks. It reached a new level yesterday when a section of the media reported that the outfielder had stopped following the Yankees on Instagram.
Ryan Field of ABC7 New York started things off by sharing a screenshot that seemed to show that the free-agent slugger had stopped following the only major league team he had played for. Though it’s not even clear if Aaron Judge ever followed the Yankees on Instagram at all, the viral post created a shock wave among the Yankees fans.
Online sleuths at Jomboy Media’s “Talkin’ Yanks” account pointed out that the same rumor that Aaron Judge had unfollowed the Yankees circulated more than a year ago, well before any era in which the outfielder would’ve been prepared to part ways with the team.
The 30-year-old just finished a season in which he hit 62 home runs and broke Roger Maris’ American League record. He is likely to get a contract worth more than $300 million.
Aaron Judge turned down a deal with the Yankees that would have paid him $213.5 million over seven years.
Jon Heyman of The Post wrote earlier this week that the Bombers aren’t sure if they want to keep Judge. Heyman thought that the Giants, the Dodgers, and the Mets would be the most likely places for the slugger to go if he left in free agency.
The Yankees would love to get Aaron Judge back, but it’s not clear if owner Hal Steinbrenner can win a bidding war to re-sign him.
“Hopefully we’ll see him for years to come in pinstripes,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “I don’t even want to think about the alternative right now. He means a lot to a lot of us in that room.”
Aaron Judge hasn’t been saying much.
“I’ve never been a free agent,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”
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