The Yankees do not know what Aaron Judge is going to do. But whatever it is, they expect him to do it sooner rather than later.
The Bombers believe Judgement Day is nigh, according to an NJ.com report.
Without any direct conversation with Judge’s camp in the last two weeks, officials are relying on third-party intel as well as their own intuition about which way No. 99 is leaning and how close this process is to the finish line.
The verdict?
A decision is coming “very soon” in the words of one club elder, coinciding with next week’s Winter Meetings in San Diego.
“I don’t think Aaron will let this drag on,” was the follow-up sentiment. Judge himself has said he wants to sign quickly enough to let his new (or old) team get on with its off-season roster construction.
The winter meetings start Sunday. Judge has met with the Yankees and received their updated offer. He has also met with the Giants and, presumably, gotten their offer. Is there anyone else out there? The answer may be no, actually. The Dodgers keep getting floated as a contender, but the world would know if they broke bread with the slugger. And the other big money teams — the Cubs, Mets, Rangers, Red Sox, et cetera — have remained on the sidelines so far.
So if this is truly a two-horse race between the Giants and Yankees, there is not much left to do. The Yankees are operating under the assumption Judge will not give them a chance to counter whatever the Giants offer him, according to the report. They assume they had one shot to win the bidding and believe their offer will prove to be the best one. Now all they can do is wait.
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com
