Maybe Aaron Judge had a good read on Juan Soto’s free agency.
Judge’s interesting comments about how he opted to give Soto “space” during his free agency rather than pitch him on returning to The Bronx have a different vibe to them now that Soto spurred the Yankees and opted for the Mets’ historic 15-year, $765 million deal that can reach $805 million.
“I think the best thing is to give those guys space,” Judge said in late November of his pitch to Soto. “I talked to him all season. He knows how we feel about him. The most important thing is to let him do his thing … and come to the right decision for him and his family.”
Judge’s comments stood out since most teammates usually note how they pitch their teammates on returning, and the reigning MVP seemed to be taking the opposite approach.
That’s not to say that Judge didn’t pitch Soto all throughout the season, but ex-Met Trevor May labeled it as “odd.”
“But if you want him, sometimes you just have to flex that muscle a bit because you’re Aaron Judge, man,” May said on his podcast last month.
“You are the LeBron James of the game right now, so just be him and if that helps you and you get him that’s all that matters at the end of the day. It is interesting and kind of of odd that he was very adamant about his not talking to him, which seemed a little out of place with the situation.”
Follow The Post’s coverage of Juan Soto’s historic megadeal with the Mets:
Now that Soto has a new home and simply followed the money, it begs the question of whether Judge knew that ultimately nothing would matter but the bottom line.
Soto is a Scott Boras client and players signed to his agency often go for the highest offer. That’s a known fact throughout the sport.
And assuming Judge and Soto had been talking throughout the year, Judge may have had a sense that it didn’t matter what he said since all that mattered was which team offered Soto the most.
Soto certainly didn’t do anything to dispel that notion during the year, often talking about how there was no favorite and he would be open to any and all offers (a.k.a. let’s have a bidding war).
Former Marlins president David Sampson hinted at that theory on his “Nothing Personal” podcast.
The Yankees ultimately came up $5 million short in their total offer, $45 million short with incentives and $15 million less than the Mets in their signing bonus, the latter of which The Post exclusively reported.
“So word gets out because Hal Steinbrenner wants Yankees fans to know we wanted to keep the band together. We wanted Soto and Judge together, just like they were one step away from another ring,” Samson said. “How do the players feel about that? Aaron Judge basically told you how he felt. ‘Yeah, I’m not getting involved.’ Didn’t really sound like … that sound a little strange, didn’t it? No full-court press from the teammates who loved him so very much. Please.
“You think the players don’t see through other players and they all love each other off the field? They certainly love what they do on the field if they can perform. Go out of their way to have a player come in who’s going to be paid twice as much as the captain? Please.”
Soto’s $765 million deal more than doubled Judge’s $360 million pact he signed two offseasons ago, which can be attributed to the age difference between the two.
Judge signed his deal before his age-31 season, while Soto is signing before his age-27 season.
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