Aaron Judge's Agents Say Yankees Star Turned Down $400m Contract from Padres in FA

Even though it was assumed the race to sign Aaron Judge during the offseason was a two-team race between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants, there was another National League West club that actually offered him the most money.

Page Odle, one of Judge's agents at PSI Sports Management, told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal the San Diego Padres offered the 2022 AL MVP a contract worth more than $400 million.

Rosenthal noted two other sources briefed on the situation said the Padres' proposal was in the range of $415 million over at least 12 years.

Judge wound up re-signing with the Yankees on a nine-year, $360 million contract. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported the Giants' offer to Judge was in the $360 million range before he decided to go back to New York.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported Judge took a surprise flight to San Diego on Dec. 6 to meet with the Padres, who offered him a deal worth $400 million over 10 years.

The following day, Judge decided to re-sign with the Yankees.

According to Rosenthal, one of the key factors in Judge's decision was a text message from Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner sent around 2 a.m. on Dec. 7 and a subsequent meeting between the two sides.

"It just came down to the relationship I have with Hal," Judge said, "being able to call him up on the phone and say, 'Hey, this is where I'm at. This is me just talking man to man to you. I'm showing you my cards, everything that is on the table. This is where we're at. This is where I want to be at. Can we get this done?'"

The Padres have been arguably the most-talked-about team in Major League Baseball this offseason because of their aggressive spending. Their contracts to Xander Bogaerts, Yu Darvish, Manny Machado, Joe Musgrove and Michael Wacha are worth a combined $864 million.

That doesn't even include the 14-year, $340 million extension Fernando Tatis Jr. signed in February 2021.

If the Padres had signed Judge, they likely wouldn't have pursued Bogaerts. But there's no indication from how they have been spending it would have stopped them from extending Machado, Darvish and Musgrove.

San Diego's aggressiveness, even if it didn't end up landing Judge, has drawn criticism from other small-market clubs. Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort said during a fan event in January he doesn't "100% agree with" the Padres' process.

It seems to be paying off for the Padres, as Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported their projected revenue for the 2023 season will likely make them a club that pays into revenue sharing, after previously receiving money from clubs as one of the small-market teams that receive a payout.

The Yankees have been paying into revenue sharing for as long as the process has been around in MLB. They were able to make the right pitch to retain Judge coming off a historic 2022 season.

Now, Judge will attempt to lead the Yankees to the World Series for the first time since 2009.