Could Aaron Judge Actually Leave Yankees For Red Sox? Reporters Think So
Would Aaron Judge genuinely consider switching to the other side of the biggest rivalry in baseball via free agency? If the Boston Red Sox send a strong enough offer, he'd be forced to.
While everyone tries to predict what the hulking slugger will do after one of the greatest individual regular seasons of all time, there has been some speculation that the Red Sox could be in play.
MLB.com's Marc Feinsand listed Boston as one of five landing spots for the 30-year-old slugger.
"Plenty of players have jumped from one side of the rivalry to the other, but none would cause the aftershocks that Judge-to-Boston would create," Feinsand wrote Monday. "This doesn’t feel like a likely scenario, but after a disappointing season that ended with a last-place finish in the American League East, the Red Sox could try to make a big splash in free agency."
As Feinsand noted later in the article, Judge was asked about the possibility of playing for the Red Sox, and while he didn't fully commit one way or the other, he raved about the Red Sox fanbase as well as the atmosphere of Fenway Park.
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The other landing spots listed were the New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers
Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter ranked 10 landing spots for Judge, and the Red Sox came in at No. 7.
"The Red Sox find themselves at a crossroads this offseason with Xander Bogaerts expected to opt out of his contract and Rafael Devers staring down free agency after the 2023 season, and if they don't want to go through a rebuilding period, signing Judge would be one way to push toward immediate contention," Reuter wrote Tuesday.
Reports are flying about the Red Sox's extension talks with Devers, and there has been mutual interest in a new deal with Bogaerts.
Should those deals get done, Judge would be an unlikely addition. Should those contracts fall apart, adding the 30-year-old slugger would at the very worst severely upset the Yankees' organization.
I'd prefer to base decision-making on winning, but if they elect to go another route, pettiness could make for an interesting offseason.
More MLB: Red Sox Reportedly Just Made Rafael Devers 'Substantially Improved Offer'
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