MLB fans hold their collective breath as Aaron Judge reportedly seeks a deal for 9 years from interested parties

As the MLB Winter Meetings draw closer, Aaron Judge's suitor race is heating up.

A report from The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal has now suggested that the reigning American League MVP's terms could reach up to nine years in the bid to succeed.

The New York Yankees reportedly made an offer of $300 million across eight years but Judge has yet to accept it.

Another strong contender in the Aaron Judge sweepstakes is the San Francisco Giants. The franchise is reportedly exhausting all possible resources, including former NBA MVP Stephen Curry, to land the star outfielder in The Bay.

Another possible destination for Judge is Chavez Ravine with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In a separate interview with The Athletic Baseball Show, skipper Dave Roberts stated that he isn't ruling out the possibility of Judge playing the outfield for the team. This potential move could see Mookie Betts shift to second base.

This further fans the flames of anticipation and keeps the proverbial hot stove seething with excitement as MLB fans hold their breath to see the next developments. One of them wrote on Twitter:

Fans from different fanbases have varying opinions on the matter. It goes without saying that supporters from the perceived top three bidders are showing more concern and attachment to the matter.

Aaron Judge's "nine-year" contract in context

According to Ken Rosenthal, the winning bid for Aaron Judge's contract might just top the nine-year mark. Many predicted that the AL MVP would ask for a large sum given his historic 2022 season and, in return, a contract like no other.

Judge is currently 30 years of age. This means that upon the expiry of his rumored contract, he would be 39 and the calendar would have jumped a decade to the year 2031.

At the moment, Mike Trout has the biggest contract and average annual value among position players in the MLB. He is earning $36 million a year after signing a 12-year, $426 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels.

Per MLB Trade Rumors' website, Judge's contract could go north of $332 million for nine years. It would make the New York Yankees slugger the highest-paid position player in baseball history per annum.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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