There has never been any substantial sign the Mets are interested in Aaron Judge. But there has also been no signal they would not go after the Yankees star, either. So the Amazins and owner Steve Cohen have continued to loom as the great wild card in the slugger’s free agency.
AARON JUDGE FREE AGENCY TRACKER
But we appear to have a small, but important, bit of movement on the Judge-Mets front now. The Post’s Jon Heyman reports:
One Yankees player suggested he feared “the hedge fund guy” might make a play for Judge. While this would be an all-time market crashing move, Steve Cohen has seven free agents of his own he’s hyper focused on. They’d need to hear first from Judge that he wants to move crosstown, too. Long shot.
The key takeaway: If Judge was to seek out the Mets, maybe something could happen. But it sounds like they have no plans to chase after him. Which makes sense.
The Mets have to worry about re-signing Jacob deGrom and Edwin Diaz, among others. And they will be one of the top suitors for Shohei Ohtani whenever he becomes available, whether it be via trade with the Angels or as a free agent next winter. They could also be playing the long game and expecting Juan Soto will not re-sign with the Padres. All in all, it makes sense they would stay away from Judge — who will be 31 next season — and avoid a move of aggression toward the Yankees.
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com
