David Ortiz: Yankees' Aaron Judge 'would be perfect for the Mets'

A Hall-of-Famer has become the latest noteworthy individual within the MLB community to link New York Yankees All-Star slugger Aaron Judge with the New York Mets. 

"I think the Mets should approach (Judge)," former Boston Red Sox superstar David Ortiz told Pat Ragazzo of "Inside the Mets" during a Zoom interview. "If I'm the Mets, I would give him $50 million for the next 5-6 years."

Judge rejected a seven-year, $213.5 million contract extension offer from the Yankees before the start of the season and became the likely American League Most Valuable Player via a historic campaign. The 30-year-old set a new AL single-season record of 62 home runs and, per ESPN stats, led all of MLB with a 1.111 OPS and finished tied for first along with Pete Alonso of the Mets with 131 RBI. Judge's .311 average was good for fifth among all eligible players. 

"(Judge) would be perfect for the Mets because he'd be hitting second in that lineup, and he can play all three outfield spots," Ortiz added during the conversation. "He should be the highest-paid player in the game. But I would not give him a 10-year deal because of his injury history."

Judge played in 148 regular-season games in 2021 and then appeared in 157 contests this year before the start of the postseason tournament. 

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal reported in September that he believes big-spending Mets owner Steve Cohen will at least "make a bid" to land Judge's services. ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith as well as MLB employees have since also said they can envision the four-time All-Star leaving the Bronx to sign with the Mets. 

"(The Mets) just didn't click when they had to," the man affectionately known as "Big Papi" said about the 2022 edition of the club that suffered playoff elimination in the wild-card round. "That used to happen with the Red Sox. Then 'Papi' showed up and everything changed, so they probably need a 'Papi.'"