Yankees' Aaron Boone offers 'tense' metaphor for Aaron Judge free-agency saga

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone admitted Wednesday he endured "some tense moments" during the free-agency saga involving All-Star slugger Aaron Judge. 

"That feeling if you lost your cellphone, your keys, your wallet, and your iPad, gone," Boone explained about his emotions during those moments, as shared by Ryan Chichester of Audacy. "And the next morning, someone knocks on the door and says, 'Were you looking for this?'" 

Boone, Judge, and team owner Hal Steinbrenner were among those who attended Wednesday's media event to commemorate the reigning American League Most Valuable Player returning to the Bronx Bombers via a nine-year, $360 million contract.

The manager's take is understandable considering it was reported last week that some within the Yankees believed the team would lose Judge to either the San Francisco Giants or San Diego Padres, in part because the 30-year-old still hadn't forgotten how general manager Brian Cashman publicly revealed the terms of the offer Judge rejected before the start of this past season. 

Boone was finally able to breathe easy and celebrate ahead of Christmas. 

"We got our guy," Boone added. "When you sign a player to this kind of a deal, and for this long of a time, obviously we’re talking about a great player between the lines and one of the great two-way players in our game. But what I really appreciate is who he is in our room…and who he is as a teammate and as a person." 

As had been expected for weeks, if not months, Judge was named the 16th captain in the history of the Yankees. Boone spoke with YES Network, the television home of the franchise, about how Judge served as the club's unofficial captain before Wednesday: