MLB Rumors: Latest Buzz on Yankees' Aaron Judge, Projected Contract Value, More

The Major League Baseball landscape feels a lot different than it did when the lockout was impacting the start of the regular season. We've seen exciting playoff races, surprising teams and one star chasing history.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge has captivated much of the baseball world as he continues a historic season.

On Wednesday, Judge hit his 61st home run of the season, tying Roger Maris for the most in American League history.

Judge is now tied for seventh all-time in MLB history with seven games to go. With one more dinger, he will own the Yankees and AL record by himself. Judge has also batted an impressive .313 average and delivered 130 RBI. Quite frankly, he's having one of the most impressive seasons of the century.

"He has made a brutally difficult game look relatively easy," Ian O'Connor of the New York Post wrote. "Nobody has ever won the Triple Crown by hitting more than 52 home runs, and now Judge has a chance to win it by hitting more than 62, while batting at least 70 points higher than the league average."

While baseball fans—and the Yankees—should celebrate Judge's accomplishments this season, part of the feel-good story is overshadowed by the fact that the 30-year-old may be playing his last games in a Yankees uniform.

Judge rejected New York's seven-year, $213.5 million extension offer in the offseason, setting him up for 2023 free agency.

"Judge wanted close to the 10-year, $360 million contract extension that center fielder Mike Trout received from the Los Angeles Angels," USA Today's Bob Nightengale wrote in April. "Sorry, the Yankees finally told Judge and his representatives, if you want to finish your career with the Yankees, this is a fair offer. But if you want to be paid like Trout, the Yankees told him, you’ll have to go elsewhere."

After such a prolific season, Judge's price tag certainly isn't coming down—though the slugger insists that he didn't necessarily view this year as a bet on himself.

"Every day is a gamble,’’ Judge said, per Dan Martin of the New York Post. "So I just focus on what I need to do on the field, and everything else will take care of itself.”

Whether Judge viewed his contract decision as a gamble or not, he's about to hit the proverbial jackpot. He'll be heavily courted on the open market, and he stands a reasonable chance of becoming the league's highest-paid player.

ESPN's Kiley McDaniel recently polled 14 anonymous MLB executives about Judge's projected contract value. The predictions averaged out to 8.6 years and just below $320 million.

"In fact, a couple of the experts I talked to immediately responded to my question of how much Judge should get with something to the effect of 'just over Mike Trout's AAV,'" McDaniel wrote.

Trout, for the record, is making $35.5 million annually, according to Spotrac. If Judge were to equal that on a seven-year deal—the length that New York offered—it would be roughly $35 million more than what the Yankees have on the table.

Even factoring in a hometown discount, that's a sizeable gap, and one that legitimately gives other teams a chance to swoop in and snag Judge in the offseason.

Interestingly, five of nine unnamed executives predicted that Judge will sign with a team that isn't the Yankees. According to McDaniel, two picked the New York Mets, two said the San Francisco Giants, and one guessed either the Giants or the Los Angeles Dodgers.

This differs from earlier buzz, which suggested that Judge is heavily expected to return to the Yankees in 2023.

"Most expect the Yankees to re-sign AL MVP shoo-in Judge even though there was a big gap in talks when they broke for the season," Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote on September 1.

Earlier this month, rumors suggested that many around the league not only expect Judge to re-sign but believe it would benefit the sport as a whole.

"The Yankees 'have to' keep Judge, says a rival," Heyman wrote last week. "He played as practically a one-man band in the second half, taking his season into the realm of the all-time great. Even among some rivals, the hope is he stays 'for the good of the game.'"

Indeed, Judge's run has likely brought new eyeballs to the MLB and kept casual fans engaged. He's a charismatic player, doing remarkable things and playing for one of the sport's most high-profile franchises.

Little of that, though, should matter to the Yankees. This is a franchise that consistently churns out a high payroll but hasn't won a title since 2009. Judge will turn 31 in the spring and has a notable injury history. Paying him such a substantial sum into his late 30s could be problematic.

While New York is a franchise that loves to have stars, it has a difficult decision to make regarding Judge. But if the Yankees decide not to meet his preferred asking price, another team will.

So, there's a real chance we see Judge in San Francisco or Los Angeles next season—he did grow up in California, after all. He could land elsewhere, too, and fans can expect his foray into free agency to be one of the offseason's biggest storylines.

Despite the buzz, the speculation and the uncertainty, though, fans should take the time to appreciate what Judge is doing now. He's having a campaign for the ages, and he'll have an opportunity to continue it with New York in the postseason.