Four Teams Reportedly Poised To Make Serious Run For Yankees' Aaron Judge

Judge will have plenty of options this winter

While Aaron Judge prepares to take on the Cleveland Guardians in Game 5 of the American League Division Series, front office members around Major League Baseball will be putting the groundwork together to offer him life-changing money. 

The 30-year-old outfielder is expected to make a hefty sum of cash, which naturally takes the majority of the league out of his price range. However, there are four teams already expected to be involved in the Judge sweepstakes -- and the Yankees reportedly already know it.

"The Yankees envision the main competition coming from the San Francisco Giants and maybe the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers (though LA is known to prefer shorter deals at higher AAVs; Bryce Harper didn’t go for that when they tried $160 million for four)," New York Post's Jon Heyman wrote Thursday. "But of course, you never know in free agency."

The list of suitors is somewhat surprising on the whole. The Dodgers make sense, they have an endless supply of money and certainly fit into the win-now mold after a 111-win season ended unceremoniously with a National League Division Series loss to the San Diego Padres -- who they had beaten up on all season going into the best-of-five series.

The Giants always seem to be floated out there when discussing marquee names but rarely actually pull the trigger. Judge would be less than two hours from his hometown should he switch coasts and head to San Francisco, but he's seemingly made a home of his own in New York.

In fact, after rumors were swirling about his lack of commitment to the Yankees -- most notably at the All-Star Game -- he hinted at a possible return to the Bronx. 

Yankees' Aaron Judge Hints At Which Team He Will Play For Next Season

The Cubs make almost no sense. Yes, it's a large market. But, the Cubs are far from contention and the addition of a 30-year-old superstar would not make the most sense. You'd think they'd opt for a younger player to jumpstart their rise back to the postseason.

While this move would not make a ton of sense for either side, it is worth mentioning that Judge was incredibly complimentary of the Boston Red Sox's fanbase and would not shut down the possibility of swapping to the other side of the rivalry -- though that's just good business acumen.

Wherever the hulking slugger ends up, he'll certainly have plenty of offers to entertain assuming he chooses to enter free agency following the exclusive negotiation window with the Yankees.

More MLB: How Much Will Yankees' Aaron Judge Sign For? MLB Agents, Executives Weigh In