SAN DIEGO — The San Francisco Giants’ confidence is growing in their hopes of signing American League MVP Aaron Judge, with team officials revealing on Monday that they had become ultra-aggressive in their talks to land the star of New York Yankees.
There was a report from MLB.com that Judge was scheduled to be in San Diego for winter meetings on Tuesday, but a person close to Judge said Monday night that no travel was planned. Judge was spotted at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football game on Monday night against the New Orleans Saints in Tampa.
The Yankees continue to have active discussions with Judge, the free agent market price, but have no indication of Judge’s direction. They spoke with Judge’s representatives on Monday, and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said there were no face-to-face meetings scheduled with Judge.
“I can tell you that I had a conversation with his agent [Page Odle]” Cashman said Monday night, ”but that didn’t happen. We are still talking. It’s her dance card. He’s a free agent and he has a chance to make decisions for himself and his family. I can tell you that we are negotiating hard. …
“He won the right to go through the process. Certainly, we would like to land the plane favorably here in New York, but we are not flying the plane. We will therefore wait for this process to take place.
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The Yankees have made multiple offers to Judge since their seven-year, $213.5 million offer before Opening Day, including a recent eight-year deal worth between $288 million and $304 million. Cashman declined to say if the Yankees would make an additional offer.
Cashman hasn’t met Judge in person since the end of the season, but said Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner had a one-on-one meeting with their slugger this winter in Tampa.
“I can tell you Hal puts his money where he talks,” said Cashman, whose four-year contract was announced on Monday. “He told the fanbase that he will do everything possible to re-sign this player. Doesn’t guarantee anything. Just reaffirm that we would like our player back. We would like to continue to call him our player every step of the way so that he’s following what looks like – as long as nothing happens – a career path to Cooperstown.We’d like him to be in stripes every step of the way.
The Yankees could be looking for free agents for a marquee player such as free agent shortstops Carlos Correa or Xander Bogaerts, as well as Giants ace Carlos Rodón, but said they were paralyzed until Judge returns.
They’d like Judge to make a decision as soon as possible, giving them the option of jumping into the high-stakes free agent market to fill the void if Judge leaves, but Cashman said they won’t impose or even suggest of deadlines.
“You could take a position like that,” Cashman said, “but the position we take is to try to give him the time, opportunity and consideration to make the best decision for him and his family. I’m not setting a deadline for him starting today out of respect for the job he’s earned in free agency.
“I just don’t want to play a game of ‘Take this, I need to know now’ and the risk that comes with that. I’m not doing that to this player. He’s too important to us.’
Cashman, who declined to say he knew what it would take to sign Judge, revealed that Judge and his representatives had provided no indication that they would have the ability to match an offer from the Giants or anyone else.
“He’s got a lot of influence that he’s invested himself in,” Cashman said. “He earned that right. We should respect that. Certainly, at the end of the day, when the dust has settled and the negotiations have been exhausted, and he has had a chance to consider all the opportunities that exist, he will realize that this is the best place to him and his family to move forward.
“If he doesn’t, we’ll thank him for his time here and find ways to be the best versions of ourselves as we move forward like we always have.”
Follow Bob Nightengale on Twitter @Bnightengale.
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