3 dark horse teams that can steal Aaron Judge from Yankees

2. Atlanta Braves

Atlanta Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos has built a contender for the next decade. He’s signed Austin Riley, Matt Olson, Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Michael Harris and Spencer Strider through at least 2026. Vaughn Grissom, Kyle Wright and William Contreras are under club control for a while, too.

Isn’t there a world where the Braves shift Acuña to left field (or trade him) to make room for a massive Judge deal? Then rotate the DH with those two and Marcell Ozuna? There’s also the issue of re-signing Dansby Swanson. If the Braves do that, then maybe it’ll be harder for them to bring Judge into the fold.

As of right now, Atlanta has $195 million committed to the 2023 payroll, which will drop a few million if they non-tender anybody or if Jake Odorizzi opts out of his contract. Let’s call it $190 million. Swanson’s going to cost at least $20 million per year. Judge will be in the $35-40 million range. One of those guys can easily fit into this picture.

If Swanson goes, Grissom takes over at short. Judge replaces Swanson’s impact and the Braves arguably get better. But what about both?

The Braves had the fourth-highest attendance of any team in MLB this season (they averaged 38,600 fans per game and had over three million fans walk through the gates at Truist Park). That’s only behind the Dodgers, Cardinals and Yankees — with both LA and New York consistently being in the $240 million payroll range year after year.

What if the Braves went all in, signed both, and leaped the luxury tax threshold for the first time? They’d pay an extra few million in taxes in 2023 and 2024, but by 2025 guys like Charlie Morton ($20 million), Ozuna ($18 million), Travis d’Arnaud ($8 million), Eddie Rosario ($9 million), Collin McHugh ($6 million) and others will fully be off the books (some might be gone after 2024, too).

That’ll allow the Braves to exercise some caution as the tax bills pile up, and they might be able to reset with seven core players. Don’t put it past Anthopoulos, all we’re sayin’.

1. Seattle Mariners

Robinson Cano 2.0?! Not quite! The Mariners just snapped their two-decade playoff drought and nearly (yes, nearly) took down the Houston Astros in the ALDS. They blew two late-game leads and then lost a 1-0 marathon after 18 innings. They were very much in it every step of the way.

With just $92 million committed to 2023 (that figure could be ~$130 million with arbitration costs and contract options), their pitching already taken care of, Julio Rodriguez locked up for the long haul, and a number of team-friendly deals helping them get by, adding Judge to the fold is doable and realistic. And there’s the allure of being on a team that’s built for the future (at a ballpark he seemingly always drills moonshots out of).

There’s an immediate vacancy in right field with Mitch Haniger hitting free agency. Let’s say the Mariners keep everybody and their payroll without Judge is $143.6 million (per Baseball-Reference). They have further room to spend, with the first luxury tax threshold all the way at $230 million. They’re not losing a single impact player until after 2024 (unless you count Haniger and Adam Frazier for this offseason, potentially).

The AL West also runs through Houston, but the Astros’ time won’t be forever. The Mariners threatened in 2022. Seattle has a diverse set of offensive players, and one more huge bat could propel them into the top 10 or even the top five in MLB.

This puts Judge much closer to home in Northern California, too. That’s going to be a factor, whether Yankees fans accept it or not. It’s all going to come down to whether or not the Yankees miff him in negotiations the second time around.

3 reasons Aaron Judge has every right to leave Yankees in free agency

The New York Yankees probably need to retain Aaron Judge to remain a contender. But he has good reason to leave in free agency, sadly.