SAN DIEGO — Aaron Judge is poised to spend the rest of his career in The Bronx, and that’s the way it should be, according to CC Sabathia.
Judge’s former Yankee teammate believed there was a chance the outfielder could end up elsewhere in free agency, so he was relieved when Judge agreed to a nine-year, $360 million deal Wednesday.
“I’m glad the drama is over,’’ Sabathia said at the winter meetings at the Grand Hyatt. “I didn’t see him going anywhere else, but you just never know in free agency.”
Sabathia knew Judge visited the Giants in San Francisco and heard the Padres were interested, as well.
“They were legitimate options, but nothing compares to being a Yankee,’’ Sabathia said. “When I was a free agent, I could be persuaded by other places like the Dodgers or Anaheim. I didn’t understand what it meant to be a Yankee. But Aaron came up in that atmosphere. He knows it and grew up [playing] as a Yankee. There’s no other place to play.”
For Judge, now there isn’t.
Judge got managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner to increase the Yankees’ final offer by a year and $40 million, matching the Giants.
Whether Judge was actually willing to leave The Bronx, only he knows.
“I haven’t talked to [Judge], but if the Yankees hadn’t come off eight years and San Diego or San Francisco went nine or 10 years, I think he would have bounced,’’ Sabathia said. “I think he did a great job of posturing and getting as much money as he could.”
Sabathia was also pleased the deal got done at this point of the offseason, seemingly giving the Yankees and general manager Brian Cashman plenty of time to construct the rest of the roster around Judge.
“Now that they got it done here and can pivot and make other moves,’’ Sabathia said. “And now they know he’s back.”
