Giants' Zaidi: 'I never really believed' Judge would sign with us
The San Francisco Giants took their best shot at prying Aaron Judge out of New York this past winter, only to see him spurn them for a return to the Yankees. In hindsight, Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi feels like his team never truly had a chance.
"I don't know if it's a coping mechanism, but I never really believed he was gonna sign here," Zaidi told Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman on "The Show" podcast. "I think, like with a lot of things, you want to control your emotions.
"Baseball is so unpredictable, both with free agency and with trades. There have been so many times when I thought trades were at the one-yard line or five-yard line, and it winds up not happening. So, you don't really believe something is done until it's done."
He added: "At the end of the day, I think he gave us real consideration. He flew out here with his wife, spent a weekend with us, spent a lot of time with us. And I know there's been talk that it was leverage and this and that, but I believe the interest was sincere."
Zaidi and his front office pulled out all the stops in their recruitment of Judge, who grew up a Giants fan in nearby Linden, California. They apparently spared no expense, reportedly making him an offer in the $360-million range during the winter meetings. Ultimately, he chose to re-sign with the Yankees on a nine-year, $360-million contract that also made him the team's first captain since Derek Jeter.
The Giants quickly moved on after Judge made his decision, instead signing former Mets outfielder Michael Conforto to a two-year deal. The moves Zaidi did make seem to have paid off, as the club entered Tuesday in a wild-card spot and just 2.5 games back of the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks.
Zaidi was very complimentary of Judge for his "impressive and respectful" handling of the free-agency process. While he believes his club made a competitive financial offer, the longtime executive felt that money wasn't Judge's priority this winter, which ultimately helped the Yankees retain their star.
"It's impossible to say. I think it's a fair question, but I think it kind of came down, like I said, to where Aaron felt it was the right place (for him) to be," Zaidi said when asked if he thought there was a specific number that could've lured Judge to Oracle Park.
"He probably knew that when he presented one of the teams with, 'Hey, this is what it's gonna take,' it's kind of hard to say no in that scenario. Again, two things can be true, that I think he gave us real consideration but ultimately decided that (New York) was the right spot for him."