During the winter of 2022-23, when Yankees fans were distracted by the San Francisco Giants and their own anxiety during Aaron Judge's free agency, two other MLB teams were making silent plays for the slugger.
One, the San Diego Padres, represented the actual reason Judge was on a plane to California during the Winter Meetings. When the Yankees noted that they were blissfully unaware of his travel plans, it seemed at the time that the Giants had them cooked. Instead, it was the Pads who'd flown Judge to town for one last-gasp financial overload. Ultimately, as we all know, he passed.
The other semi-secret bidder? According to the Tampa Bay Times' Kristie Ackert, the Yankees' division rival Rays really did try, offering Judge 10 years and $300 million in total before the frenzy reached a fever pitch. Factor in taxation, and there's a bit of a Floridian advantage baked in (and, as we all know, Judge was based in Tampa for much of that winter, hobnobbing with Tom Brady in the tunnel on occasion).
How close did Judge come to spurning the Yankees and the captaincy for $10 million lower AAV? Ultimately, the Rays probably still finished fourth here, despite their valiant effort. "Tried" is doing some heavy lifting here, though this offer is obviously far more substantial than anything that was rumored for Freddie Freeman.
According to Judge, speaking in Ackert's piece, he entered free agency expecting overtures from the California teams he ultimately heard from, but he wasn't quite as keyed in on the Rays -- at least not until they made their "respectful" offer.
Annually, the Rays do more with less, agitating the Yankees while churning through a seemingly endless group of on-base monsters and power arms. They likely won't be a free agent destination of any kind until they move into a brighter, more buoyant stadium (and perhaps undergo an ownership transplant). After all, the largest contract in franchise free agent history? Zach Eflin's three-year, $40 million pact, which is already rumored to be on the move in Year 2.
Credit to the Rays for recognizing a generational talent when they see one and threatening to buck trends, but it's safe to say the Yankees were more threatened by the other overtures they reckoned with here.
