Aaron Judge is in San Francisco. But is his heart there?
The Yankees are one big step closer to finding out. The American League MVP is expected to have a free agency meeting with the Giants on Tuesday, according to MLB.com. There is video of Judge arriving at a hotel in the city. An apparent Twitter scoopster suggests it is the St. Regis.
Breaking news into @MLBNetwork, via video from San Francisco: Aaron Judge has arrived in the city and is expected to meet with the #SFGiants this week. Join us on #MLBNHotStove at 9 am ET tomorrow for the latest. @MLB pic.twitter.com/pq0at6kgQ6
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 22, 2022
None of this is a surprise, of course. Judge is a Northern California native. He grew up a Giants fan in Linden, which is about two hours from the city. His wife, Samantha, also grew up there. And their parents still live there. They also attended Fresno State, where Judge played his college ball at Fresno State. And the Giants have been considered the top threat to steal the slugger from the Yankees for months.
But this all feels very real now. The Yankees made an updated offer to Judge, but he is committed to seeing what the market has to offer him. And the Giants are, by all indications, the big whale who could change everything. And once Judge is in the room with a team, there is always a chance he makes a deal before he leaves it.
The only recent local activity with Judge: A silly collusion investigation into a SNY report the Mets were unlikely to make a run at Judge. There appears to be absolutely no there, there. But MLB is indulging the MLBPA for some reason.
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com
