Yankees never stood chance with Aaron Judge if Steph Curry lures him to Giants

Good on the San Francisco Giants for pulling out all the stops. May the best team win. But as much as Steph Curry is a legend in his own right, there’s no way he’s going to have any extra pull on Aaron Judge’s eventual free agency decision.

If he does, then the New York Yankees never stood a chance in the Judge sweepstakes, as sad as it is to say or even imagine.

The reigning AL MVP already knows his worth. He already knows what other suitors have to offer him from a winning standpoint. He already knows he will be the centerpiece/focal point of any franchise that decides to sign him.

He doesn’t need to be wooed by the one of the highest-paid players/faces of the NBA. Championships in basketball don’t translate championships in baseball. Judge doesn’t need a tour of the city he grew up right next to. He doesn’t need a night out on the town to convince him that San Fran is where he needs to be.

If Tom Brady — arguably the most iconic modern day sports legend — couldn’t bring Kevin Durant to the Boston Celtics, then expect Curry to be a footnote in Judge’s journey into the open market.

Steph Curry probably won’t convince Aaron Judge to leave the Yankees

If Judge leaves the Yankees, it was either because his mind was already made up; the Yankees disrespected him for a second time in their negotiations; or he received assurances from other teams that they’d spend big and surround him with superior talent for years to come in addition to paying him what he wants (both of which would exceed the Yankees’ promises).

In fact, the involvement of Curry here feels like an act of desperation more than anything else. Giants players jumping in on the recruitment pitch via social media also feels a bit too orchestrated. Judge is already revered to the max being an icon in New York. A couple of Instagram shoutouts and contrived “meetup” with Curry feels more disingenuous than the Yankees’ $213.5 million extension offer.

Admittedly, this might be easy for New York fans to say. There’s no commensurate superstar in the Big Apple for the Yankees to help with their sales pitch (if they even desired to do that, which they would never because they won’t go outside the basic Xs and Os of negotiating). Daniel Jones? A benched Zach Wilson? A struggling RJ Barrett? An ostracized Kyrie Irving? A forgotten Kevin Durant? It’s a ghost town at the moment.

Oh … maybe that’s the best reason Judge has to remain with the Yankees? He’ll be the biggest star in any sport by far for the foreseeable future, cement himself as an international icon by remaining in New York during his prime, and will hold the keys to the city for the rest of his life if he captures one World Series.

Yup, think we figured it out.

Joc Pederson goes hard recruiting Yankees’ Aaron Judge to Giants on IG story

New York Yankees free agent outfielder Aaron Judge is getting wooed to the San Francisco Giants on Joc Pederson's Instagram story.