The Yankees in the Hal Steinbrenner/Brian Cashman era are typically rational in free agency, bypassing bidding wars in favor of what they perceive as value.
This sometimes frustrates fans old enough to remember George Steinbrenner’s whims(which, by the way, often proved foolhardy), but it’s the way the 21st century Yanks operate.
Most of the time.
Every so often, Hal decides to put on blinders, bear down and hone in on a particular target, damn the cost. The two most memorable were CC Sabathia ($161 million) after the 2008 season and Gerrit Cole ($324 million) after 2019.
It appears that no one in the media knows exactly what the Yankees have offered Aaron Judge -- in fact, I’m told that barely anyone in the Yankees organization has details, either -- but the vibe I’m catching is that he’s soon to become another Sabathia or Cole. It would be a mild surprise if this doesn’t wrap up by the end of next week’s winter meetings, the time frame when those other two players signed.
At the quarterly owners meetings this month, Steinbrenner projected confidence in his team’s ability to do what it took to retain Judge.