On October 25, the New York Yankees will play Game 1 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hot stove rumours, however, persist despite the Fall Classic. This winter, could the Bombers try to get Vladimir Guerrero Jr., a first baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays?
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report offered “crazy” MLB trade suggestions for every division that would upend the status quo before 2025. He suggested the following four-player trade between Toronto and New York:
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., first baseman, is acquired by the Yankees.
The Blue Jays acquire right-handed pitcher Clayton Beeter, left-handed pitcher Brock Selvidge, and outfielder Spencer Jones.
Three of the Yankees’ top 20 minor-league prospects would be traded in this suggested arrangement. According to MLB, Beeter is ranked 18th overall, followed by Jones (second) and Selvidge (seventh) in the top 10.
Given that each of the six men who played first base this season had an OPS of.661 or worse, the Yankees most definitely need the assistance there. It’s a foregone conclusion they’ll decline their $17M club option on Anthony Rizzo in pursuit of a better solution,” he stated. It will take something like a king’s ransom for the Yankees to obtain their man, just like it did with [Juan] Soto last winter. But what an amazing wrecking ball of a lineup they would have in 2025 if they manage to re-sign Soto and trade for Guerrero.”
For the Yankees, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would be a huge upgrade.
In 2024, the Yankees’ offence was among the greatest in baseball. The club reached a total of 117 wRC+ thanks in part to Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. According to FanGraphs, only the Dodgers (118) had a more effective offence. However, as Miller pointed out, the New York first basemen did not contribute much.
The second-worst mark in MLB, 76 wRC+, was generated by that portion of the squad. Guerrero, meanwhile, had a fantastic season for Toronto as a first baseman.
His 5.5 WAR was top among main first basemen, per FanGraphs. The slugger with the right hand struck.323/.396/.544 with 697 plate appearances, 30 home runs, 103 RBI, and 98 runs scored. In the past, Guerrero has also enjoyed hitting at Yankee Stadium. In 42 career games, he has a.959 OPS, 14 home runs, and 26 RBI.
According to MLB Trade Rumours, he will make $29.6 million in his final year of arbitration after earning $19.9 million in 2024. After the 2025 campaign, he will be a free agent.
Guerrero’s chances of joining the Yankees are slim.
Would Guerrero be comfortable joining the Yankees if the Blue Jays made a significant trade offer and he had a vote in where he went next? He said he would never sign with the Bombers in 2022. His statement in April that “it’s a personal thing that goes back with my family” supported that.
In addition to mentioning both of these things, Miller also explained how the slugger had changed his mind before the trade deadline and was more amenable to a deal if one materialised.
However, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported on August 18 that Toronto will attempt to sign Guerrero to an extension prior to his free agency. Additionally, combining him alongside Guerrero after 2025 will be a key component of the equation if they make a strong run at Soto this winter.
If it fell, this would undoubtedly be a crazy trade. It doesn’t seem realistic right now, though, given Guerrero’s history with the Yankees and the fact that both Toronto and New York are in the American League East.
More about a star Aaron Judge
In 2022, Aaron Judge, an outfielder for the Yankees, hit 62 home runs, setting a new American League record.
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News from 1992 to the present: Yankees Centre Fielder to Participate in First World Series
Aaron Judge has struggled to find his rhythm as he enters his first World Series, despite leading the New York Yankees through the 2024 regular season with 58 home runs and a.322 batting average.
Judge, 32, has only had five hits in nine games this postseason, which is rather quiet for him. But beginning in Game 1 of the Fall Classic against the NL champion Dodgers in Los Angeles on October 25, the Yankees slugger aims to improve those figures.
When I was a child, I remember the thrill, the emotion, and the way the city came to life when I saw the Yankees play in and win the World Series. It was truly something amazing. On October 22, Judge stated, “I’m looking forward to doing it with this bunch.”
After winning the American League Championship Series in five games against the Cleveland Guardians, New York advanced to the World Series. Prior to the Yankees’ breakthrough this season, Judge had made it to the penultimate round of the playoffs three times with the team: in 2017, 2019, and 2022.
Aaron Judge: Who Is He?
Aaron Judge, a six-time All-Star, has been an outfielder for the New York Yankees since 2016. The California-bred athlete, who is among the biggest guys to have ever played in Major League Baseball, demonstrated his incredible strength in 2017 by hitting a rookie record 52 home runs. Judge captivated the sports world in 2022 after a few seasons marred by injuries when he hit an American League-record 62 home runs. Through his ALL RISE Foundation, the well-known athlete also dedicates time to aiding kids.
Fast Facts
Aaron James Judge is his full name.
DATE OF BIRTH: April 26, 1992
BIRTH PLACE: California’s Linden
Samantha Bracksieck, spouse (2021–present)
Taurus is the astrological sign.
Early Years and Parents
On April 26, 1992, Aaron James Judge was born in Linden, California.
Despite being biracial, Judge’s ethnic background and biological parents are unknown to the general public. The day following his birth, Judge was taken in by Wayne and Patty Judge, who were also teachers. John, Wayne, and Patty’s older son were also adopted.
Aaron informed the New York Post that he first became aware of the physical distinctions between himself and his parents when he was approximately ten or eleven years old. He also revealed that he had been adopted. It was okay with me. Since that are the only parents I’ve ever known, I wasn’t particularly bothered by it,” he remarked.
Growing up in Linden, a small town in northern California once famous for its yearly cherry festival, Judge was always noticeable for his enormous size. In 2015, his father told the Post, “We kind of joked that he looked like the Michelin Tyre baby.” “The four ounces of formula quickly became only the appetiser, and in order to appease him, it had to be the formula with the muesli.”
Judge became a three-sport star at Linden High School thanks to a combination of his exceptional athletic attributes and diligent work ethic. In his senior year, he averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds per game in basketball, broke school records with 17 touchdowns and 969 receiving yards for the football team, and recorded a.500 batting average and 0.88 ERA for the Mother Lode League-winning baseball club. Outside of the pitch, he helped at his local church and was a member of the student council for two years.
By the end of high school, Judge had turned off offers to play football for Notre Dame, Stanford University, and UCLA in favour of baseball.
Baseball Career: New York Yankees College
Judge chose to continue his schooling and amateur development at California State University, Fresno, despite being selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 31st round of the 2010 MLB draft while still a high school student.
Judge was selected to the All-Western Athletic Conference Team both times after his strong first two seasons with the Fresno State Bulldogs. He only hit six home runs at that period, though, indicating that his enormous in-game power had not yet materialised.
After Judge’s sophomore year, when he won the competition with his enormous hits in the summer Cape Cod League, which gathered the best collegiate players in the country, things started to shift. He also took first place in the TD Ameritrade College Baseball Home Run Derby that year.
Back at Fresno State, Judge recorded a stellar.461 on-base percentage with team highs in home runs (12), doubles (15), and RBIs (36), earning him all-conference honours for the third consecutive season.
Minor Leagues and the MLB Draft
Prior to being selected as the No. 32 pick in the 2013 MLB draft, Aaron Judge played three seasons in college.
The New York Yankees picked Judge with the 32nd overall pick in the 2013 draft, and they completed the transaction by offering an $1.8 million signing bonus.
After missing the rest of the 2013 season due to a quadriceps injury, Judge performed admirably in the Yankees organisation’s lower levels the following season. By the end of the season, he was with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the International League, the organisation’s best minor league team, after his consistent growth earned him a spot in the 2015 All-Star Futures Game.
Judge was called up to join the Yankees in the Bronx that August after hitting.270 with 19 home runs in 93 games with the RailRiders in 2016.
The New York Yankees
Judge made a spectacular start to his professional baseball career by hitting home runs in his first two games with the Yankees while sporting the typically high jersey number 99. Judge’s hitting average, however, dropped to.179 by the time an oblique injury interrupted his 2016 season in September as opposing pitchers quickly identified his flaws.
In 2017, Judge made his Major League debut and won the American League Rookie of the Month Award for April after bouncing back from an injury with ten early home runs. The Yankees established the ‘Judge’s Chambers’ seating area in Yankee Stadium behind the superstar’s then-customary position in right field after fans started showing up to games in wigs and judges’ robes around May.
After an incredible first half of the season, Judge, who was well-liked outside of New York City, received the most votes of any American League player for All-Star. He took advantage of the situation by defeating a number of other elite sluggers in the Home Run Derby.
In late September, Judge crushed Mark McGwire’s rookie record of 49 home runs after watching the strikeouts mount over a difficult August. With a league-high 52 home runs, 128 runs, and 127 walks at the end of the season, he was unanimously selected as the AL Rookie of the Year and finished second in the MVP Award voting.
Recovering from Injuries and Being an All-Star
Judge hit a home run off Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer in the midsummer showcase after hitting 25 home runs in the first half of 2018 to secure his second consecutive All-Star selection. But in late July, he was struck by a pitch and suffered a fractured wrist, which prevented him from playing until the last few weeks of the season.
The slugger only played 102 games in 2019 due to a left oblique strain, but he still managed to blast 27 home runs and won the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award for his excellent right field defence. After MLB’s pandemic-delayed season opener, he hit seven home runs in his first ten games the next year. However, a strained calf put him on the injured list twice.
Judge eventually turned things around in 2021 by staying healthy, with the exception of a COVID-19 episode in the middle of the season. His increased contact abilities (i.e., his ability to make contact with the ball at bat) and a decrease in strikeouts more than made up for a minor decline in his power numbers. The game-winning single that sent the Yankees into the postseason on the last day of the regular season served as a highlight of this. Judge’s overall performance was at its peak at the time.In 2021, he finished fourth in the MVP voting and earned his second Silver Slugger Award with 287 and 39 home runs.
AL Home Runs Record
In an October game against the Texas Rangers, Aaron Judge hits his 62nd home run of the 2022 season, setting a new American League record.
Judge, who was in the last year of his rookie deal, made news in April 2022 when he turned down the Yankees’ offer of a seven-year, $213.5 million contract extension. This offer was significantly less than the outrageous wages offered to other superstars like Mike Trout and Mookie Betts.
When the slugger began hitting home runs at a rate that had never been witnessed in the history of the game, it seemed like a smart move. With nearly 400,000 more votes than Mike Trout, the runner-up in the All-Star voting, he smashed 12 home runs in May, 11 in June, and another 13 in July. And with his outstanding centre field defence and his high.311 batting average, Judge almost single-handedly maintained the Yankees in first place throughout the summertime slump.
On September 20, 2022, Judge hit his 60th home run, matching the great Babe Ruth. On September 28, he tied Roger Maris’ 61-year-old American League record with homer No. 61. He ultimately had the AL record to himself six days later when he hit a leadoff bomb in the Yankees’ penultimate regular season game. Barry Bonds has 73 home runs, which is the MLB record.
In addition to his 62 home runs, Judge lead all players in runs (133), on-base percentage (.425), and slugging percentage (.686)—the rate of total bases per at-bat—during his historic 2022 season. He also tied for the Major League record with 131 RBIs and came close to winning the batting title with his.311 average.
Present 9-Year Agreement
Following his record-breaking 2022 season, Judge turned into one of the league’s most sought-after free agents after turning down the Yankees’ long-term agreement earlier in the year. In the end, the slugger returned to the Yankees during the MLB Winter Meetings with a nine-year contract worth $360 million, which at the time was the highest free-agent contract in MLB history, because of his ties to New York. Judge reportedly declined more lucrative offers to return, such as a $415 million contract with the San Diego Padres, according to his agent.
Judge also found out that he would captain the Yankees. “That is such an amazing honour, so I was just a little surprised,” he remarked. It’s truly an honour when you look back at the list of people who have held this position. Being a part of this organisation is indeed a blessing.
The first season of Judge’s new contract didn’t go as planned. He was briefly placed on the injured list in April 2023 due to a minor hip issue. Then, during a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in early June, the outfielder crashed into a bullpen fence, causing a damaged ligament in his right big toe. Judge’s hitting average fell to.267, his lowest throughout a full season, and he eventually missed 56 of the team’s games.
Even though Judge moved from right to centre field, 2024 brought things back to normal. He led the MLB in both home runs and RBIs while at bat, recording his second-highest total of 58 and 144, respectively. In October, the Yankees proceeded to their first World Series in 15 years after winning the AL East division. They take on Shohei Ohtani, a powerful hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Weight, Height, and Stats
Judge, who stands 6 feet 7 inches and weighs 282 pounds, is among the biggest players in Major League Baseball history. In August 2024, Judge became the fastest player to reach 300 home runs (in just his 955th career game), demonstrating his record-breaking power at the plate.
Judge’s Silver Slugger Awards and 2019 Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award, however, show that he is more than just a home run hitter. According to MLB.com, Judge’s career statistics through the 2024 regular season are broken out as follows:
Average batsmanship:.288
1,026 hits
315 home runs
RBIs: 716
Scored runs: 736
Slugging plus on-base percentage (OPS): 1.010
53 bases were stolen.
Picks for the All-Star team: 6
Three Silver Slugger Awards were given out in 2017; 2021; and 2022.
Samantha Bracksieck, wife
In December 2021, Aaron Judge wed Samantha Bracksieck, his high school sweetheart.
The media finally learnt about Judge’s romance with high school love Samantha Bracksieck, even though he sought to keep his private life under wraps while enjoying the limelight in New York City. The two apparently rekindled their romance in 2019 after a few years of being apart, and in December 2021 they were married in Hawaii.
According to Judge, Bracksieck was the one who persuaded him to approach Yankees management in 2022, which is how he decided to sign his current nine-year contract rather than sign a free agent contract with another organisation. “There was no significant progress on the discussions with New York. “Call [owner Hal Steinbrenner], just call him up,” she said. Express your feelings to him. Judge responded, “Tell him what you believe.”
Judge is a dog parent to his pet dachshunds, Gus and Penny, although he is childless. Rubble & Friends, a spinoff of the well-known children’s programme Paw Patrol, featured all three of them as animated versions of themselves. Penny’s voice was provided by his wife.
The foundation
Judge established the ALL RISE Foundation in 2018 with the goal of inspiring kids to “become responsible citizens.” The foundation’s many programmes include hosting a number of baseball camps, giving grants to certain towns, and sponsoring a programme for youngsters to develop their leadership skills.
The 2023 Roberto Clemente Award, named for the famous outfielder and given to the player who “best exemplifies baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy, and good achievements, on and off the field,” was chosen in part because of Judge’s foundation.