Aaron Judge Sends Message to Juan Soto About Yankees Decision

Aaron Judge never had any plans of ditching the New York Yankees and heading back to his home state of California as a free agent following the 2022 season, but his decision was further validated after having a front-row seat to Juan Soto's Bronx return earlier this year.

In an interview with USA Today's Bob Nightengale, Judge stated that he never had much of a wandering eye and admitted that he's happy he doesn't have to deal with the same jeers Soto will have thrown his way every year at Yankee Stadium.

"This is where I always wanted to be, especially after getting drafted here," Judge said. "This is my home. But if I was to look back, and would have signed with the [San Diego] Padres or signed with the [San Francisco] Giants, it could be a little different.

“I might have been getting booed like [Juan] Soto, so I’m happy with my decision.

“Really, for me, it was all about getting a fair deal for what I thought I was worth, while still putting the team in a good position to sign who we need to."

Judge and Soto, of course, were in vastly different positions when it came time to decide whether or not to remain a Yankee. The former is a homegrown player, having been selected by the organization in the first round of the 2013 MLB Draft, and was coming off a year in which he hit an American League single-season record 62 home runs when he reached the open market.

Soto, on the other hand, was traded from the Padres to the Yankees in December 2023 and only spent a single campaign with the club. He helped them reach their first World Series in 15 years by batting .288/.419/.569 with 41 homers in the regular season to go with an OPS of 1.101 in the playoffs, but he didn't have the same long-standing connection that Judge did.

As we know, Judge rejected overtures from San Diego and San Francisco by agreeing to a nine-year, $360 million deal that will make him a Yankee for life. Soto, meanwhile, signed a massive 15-year, $765 million contract with the crosstown New York Mets

Judge is well on his way to a third MVP Award in 2025 with a .391/.485/.764 slash line, as each of those marks are tops in their respective categories.

Soto has run into some bad luck thus far, hitting .234/.364/.430 through 264 plate appearances, but he's too talented of a player to not turn things around in short order.

Still, Judge sure seems happy to not be in his shoes right now while establishing himself as one of the best hitters in baseball history for the league's most historic franchise.

Make sure to bookmark Yankees On SI to get all your daily New York Yankees news, interviews, breakdowns and more!

• Yankees Star Throws First Pitches Since Injury
• Yankees Star Infielder Returns From Injury
• Yankees Nearly Missed Paul Goldschmidt
• Mets Jump Still Doesn't Beat Yankees Attendance
• Yankees Release Former Guardians Pitcher