Barber has 'inside information' that Aaron Judge will sign with Giants?

An alleged source believes All-Star slugger Aaron Judge will sign with the San Francisco Giants in free agency. 

"I’ve kind of got some inside information," Terry Cano, owner and head barber at Majestic Barber Shop in Stockton, California, told Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle for a piece published Friday. "I’ve kind of been hearing the same thing that everyone’s hoping: that he’s going to come home. I’m really hoping he can come home. If he does, I’m going to buy season tickets." 

Cano, known for routinely rocking a Giants cap, first met Judge five years ago and now serves as the 30-year-old's barber. Pictures of Judge hang in Cano's shop, and Cano is credited for maintaining "Judge’s signature fade each MLB offseason." The two even exchange text messages occasionally. 

Of course, neither Letourneau nor Cano was the first person to link Judge with the Giants. The uncrowned American League Most Valuable Player is a Linden, California, native who, per Letourneau, adored former Giants shortstop Rich Aurilia when younger. Long before Judge set a new AL single-season record of 62 home runs earlier this fall, he watched Barry Bonds controversially make baseball history. 

ESPN's Jeff Passan, MLB insider Jon Heyman, and Jake Mintz of Fox Sports are among knowledgeable individuals who said earlier this week that Judge is more likely to remain with the New York Yankees than sign a massive contract with any other club. Heyman raised eyebrows when he claimed Judge is "not really a San Francisco guy" and would probably prefer swinging for the fences during home games played at Yankee Stadium rather than at Oracle Park.

Meanwhile, The Athletic's Jim Bowden wrote Thursday that the Los Angeles Dodgers "are a real threat to offer a deal that could persuade Judge to leave the Yankees" and return to California away from San Francisco. Additionally, Letourneau pointed out a different reason Judge could snub the Giants but still head "home" before Christmas. 

"Since he burst onto the national scene as the 2017 AL Rookie of the Year, he has viewed Linden as a sort of haven: the one place where he can escape the pressures of stardom and just be Aaron again," Letourneau said of Judge. "By playing only a 1½-hour drive — without traffic — from his parents' house, he might disrupt his safe space. Linden could become a popular road-trip destination for Giants diehards." 

In such a scenario, Judge would likely need to find a new barber unless Cano is willing to make house calls.