Inside The Pinstripes

Giants 'Pulling Out All the Stops' in Free Agency Pitch to Aaron Judge

San Francisco is making the most of their opportunity to meet with Aaron Judge, trying to convince him to sign with the Giants this winter.

Max Goodman

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The Giants are hopeful that a former Most Valuable Player in the Bay Area can help lure Aaron Judge to San Francisco in free agency. 

Judge arrived in San Francisco this week for a meeting with the team he grew up rooting for, a club that's poised to be the Yankees' biggest threat to keeping the slugger in pinstripes.

According to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, the Giants proceeded to put Judge in touch with Stephen Curry's camp, wanting the superstars to connect. Curry, a four-time champion with the Warriors, has won two MVP Awards and knows a thing or two about playing in Northern California. 

In a perfect world for the Giants and their fans, Curry and Judge will both play in the same San Francisco neighborhood in 2023 and beyond. 

Pavlovic added some additional details about Judge's meetings with the Giants in his report on Wednesday. "They're said to be pulling out all the stops to make a compelling pitch," he wrote. 

The reigning American League MVP began his visit at Oracle Park on Monday night, spending a chunk of the day on Tuesday with members of the organization as well, per Pavlovic. Manager Gabe Kapler and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi were included, as well as team president and CEO Larry Baer.

Meanwhile, some Giants players, like outfielder Joc Pederson, took to social media, sharing a photo of Judge in a Giants uniform.

Jon Morosi of MLB Network, who first shared a video of Judge arriving in San Francisco, also noted that the slugger's meetings with the Giants have gone "all the way up to the ownership level." Morosi expects San Francisco to present Judge with an official offer before the end of this week.

This is the first time that Judge has met with another club since entering free agency. The Yankees have made it clear that re-signing Judge is their priority and have made Judge an offer since the end of the 2022 season. Once Judge turned down a $213.5 million extension offer from the Yankees before Opening Day, closing negotiations until this offseason, this was always going to be part of this process. 

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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