Aaron Judge said he hasn’t spoken to Juan Soto since the New York Yankees lost in the World Series in late October but that he’s come up in conversation with owner Hal Steinbrenner.
“He knows how we feel about him,” Judge said.
Judge, the team captain and two-time MVP, added that he wouldn’t care if the Yankees give Soto — just 26 years old — a bigger contract than the $360-million, nine-year deal he signed before the 2023 season.
“It ain’t my money,” Judge said. “I really don’t care. As long as we get the best players and the most we can, I’m happy with whatever.”
Judge was speaking with members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America via conference call on Friday afternoon, the day after it unanimously voted him the American League MVP. The 32-year-old put up another historic season, posting a 218 wRC+ — the highest ever recorded by a right-handed hitter in either league. Judge also clobbered an MLB-best 58 home runs and 144 RBIs while hitting .322.
Judge said he preferred his 2024 campaign over the run he had when he earned is first MVP in 2022.
“One thing I tried to focus on a lot going into ’24, especially when you’ve got Juan Soto hitting in front of you and he’s going to be on base a lot, it’s just capitalizing with guys on base and trying to get the RBI count as high as you can, and if you’re able to do that, we’re going to put ourselves in a good position going into the postseason,” Judge said. “I would say I liked ’24 a little better, I think.”
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Judge said he hadn’t reached out to Soto because he wanted to give him space and that he “talked to him all season.” The Dominican Republic-born star is poised to receive perhaps the richest free-agent contract in history. The Athletic’s Tim Britton projected that he could strike a deal worth $611 million over 13 seasons. Soto has already met with the Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies. Formal offers could start to roll in as early as next week, a league source said.
Judge added that immediately after the season ended, he spent about a week in Tampa, where the team hosts its player development complex. He met with Steinbrenner, offering his opinions on players the Yankees should consider pursuing. The pair also brought up Soto.
Judge said he’s enjoyed becoming involved in the club’s decision-making process and consulting with Steinbrenner.
“When we first met when I was a free agent at the end of ‘22, that’s one of the first things he said: ‘Hey, I want to build a relationship with you and have you be a part of this. You’re going to be here for however long your contract is going to be. You’re going to be a Yankee for life,’” Judge said. “He really opened it up to be that if I had any input and feelings about things — he’s not down in the clubhouse and on the field every single day.
“I just think having that relationship to where I can communicate with him about what I’m seeing, what I’m feeling and what I see with the guys, what I see with other guys we play against, I love it. I think it’s a cool part. I think the more communication you have from top to bottom, it just makes everybody better just being honest with each other.”
Judge also discussed what it was like having Soto hitting in front of him in the lineup. Soto finished third in the MVP race, just behind shortstop Bobby Witt of the Kansas City Royals.
“You look at the Dodgers lineup where you have their first three guys are MVPs,” Judge said. “You’re going through three tough at-bats back-to-back-to-back there. I think having a chance for Juan to hit in front of me, I get to see a lot of pitches. He’s going to be a tough at-bat in front of me. He’s going to wear down the pitcher right there in the first inning. I think that was a big impact, having a guy like that in front of you.
“If I could have eight Juan Sotos in the lineup with me, I would love that.”
As for what Judge hopes for Soto?
“I think the most important thing is to now let him do his thing with his family, pray about it, talk with people and come to the right decision for him and his family,” he said.
(Photo of Judge and Soto: Mike Stobe / Getty Images)
