Aaron Judge will reportedly let Yankees 'finish as the highest bidder'

It appears New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner will only have himself to blame if he loses Aaron Judge to a different club. 

For a piece published Friday, Bob Klapisch of NJ Advance Media noted that Judge "will allow the Yankees to finish as the highest bidder" after the new American League Most Valuable Player hit free agency last week. That update comes after Steinbrenner confirmed he had "very positive conversations" with Judge following the season, including one face-to-face meeting, and after Klapisch and others claimed that re-signing slugger Anthony Rizzo improves the Yankees' chances of keeping Judge through his physical prime. 

"I saw it as a good sign that (Steinbrenner) reached out and wanted to sit down one-on-one and get a chance to talk," Judge explained during a Thursday conference call. "I saw that as a great sign." 

Fans hoping to have an answer about Judge's future before Thanksgiving Day will likely be disappointed. Klapisch reported the Linden, California native could consider offers made by the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers, among other teams, for up to at least "a couple of weeks" and possibly even into January. Klapisch also said the New York Mets "are out" after it was learned that MLB is looking into if the Amazins and Yankees violated the collective bargaining agreement regarding Judge's free agency. 

While Klapisch wondered how much Steinbrenner is willing to spend on Judge, Ian O'Connor of the New York Post left little doubt he sees the saga ending only one way. 

"But before we get to the press conference in The Bronx in the coming weeks or months to celebrate the slugger’s inevitable monster deal to remain a Yankee for life — and to remind Judge that all pinstriped legacies are ultimately measured by ticker-tape parades — let’s allow him to enjoy a game he can finally play on his terms (free agency)," O'Connor said of the four-time All-Star selection. 

Judge rejected a seven-year, $213.5 million contract extension offer from the Yankees before this past season in one of the most successful "bet on yourself" sports instances in recent memory. O'Connor speculated Judge could receive a deal "in the $350 million range" and added that "a failure to keep Judge from signing with his hometown Giants would be impossible to recover from" for Steinbrenner.