The Yankees’ outfielder Aaron Judge will become a free agent after playoffs and the San Francisco Giants are among the teams best placed to sign him. Many MLB insiders predict that the New York slugger is likely to start next season with the Giants.
According to Dave Flemming, a Giants’ insider, there is tension between Aaron Judge and the Yankees and the slugger wants to leave New York. He also termed San Francisco as the most suitable place for the power hitter. Flemming revealed this on The TK Show podcast.
The longtime Giants play-by-play announcer told The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami:
“I’ve heard that there’s some tension between Judge and [the Yankees]… If Judge says, ‘I want to go somewhere else because I think they did me wrong,’ I think the Giants are a very good choice.”
The San Francisco Giants started their offseason by making Pete Putila their new general manager. But fans are probably more interested to know who will join the team this winter. Fans expect the franchise to land Aaron Judge at Oracle Park.
Flemming talked about what he thought the offseason would be like for the team and give an interesting perspective on the possibility that Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge would become a free agent. This is certain to delight baseball fans in San Francisco.
According to the Giants’ long-time voice:
“My guess is… the easiest way to do it is with an impactful move or two, as opposed to… six or seven moves. Player development still is the avenue to getting this team to a different level consistently.”
Kawakami asked Flemming if there was pressure on Farhan Zaidi, the team president, to land a few big stars capable to bring in more promos and increase the crowd in Oracle Park. Flemming said he didn’t think the Giants’ owners were doing that. Flemming was sure that it wasn’t true. He said that they “fully trust [Zaidi] to build the best team he can build… he has pretty much free reign to make those decisions as he sees fit.”
Flemming cited the Dodgers, who didn’t make a number of big splashy trades until they reached a point where they were consistently winning more than 100 games.
He said:
“I think if you look at the Dodgers as sort of a model, because that’s where Farhan came from. If you use that as… the frame of reference for how Farhan likes to think; they got criticized for a while for not making a big move, not making a big deal. My guess is… the easiest way to do it is with an impactful move or two, as opposed to… six or seven moves. Player development still is the avenue to getting this team to a different level consistently.”
All this said, it’s clear that the Giants’ aggressive platooning strategy, which worked so well for them in 2021, didn’t work as well for them in 2022. Flemming made it clear that there is a lot of excitement in the clubhouse after the new team brass took over and the focus is on getting players, such as Aaron Judge. A big part of that will probably involve signing one or two anchor players who play every day.
What about the Giants’ chances of getting Aaron Judge? A recent report says that the Giants will try hard to sign Aaron Judge this offseason.
Many local and national experts have talked about how well Judge might fit in San Francisco. ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian said that Judge is “exactly” what the Giants need.
Aaron Judge led the American League in almost every important offensive category this season. He also hit 62 home runs, which broke Roger Maris’ record for most home runs in a single season. He ended the season with a triple-slash of .311/.425/.686. Fans see it as a natural choice to see Judge, who was from Linden that is just 90 minutes from the Bay Area and a fan of the Giants, playing in Orange and Black.
If the San Francisco Giants want to sign Aaron Judge this offseason, the Yankees can’t sign him to a new contract first. If Dave Flemming is right and the tension between the Yankees and Judge makes it more likely that he will leave, the Giants have an even better chance of adding the star to their outfield.
Do you think Aaron Judge will ditch New York and move to San Francisco?
