Report: 'Consensus belief' is that Aaron Judge will stay with Yankees

There's another indication that the New York Yankees may be close to re-signing All-Star slugger Aaron Judge.

For a piece published Tuesday, Jake Mintz of Fox Sports noted that "the consensus belief around the industry is that Judge stays" with the Yankees. 

"The thinking: He's too valuable to the Yankees for them not to shell out the cash and Judge, as far as we know, likes it there and has a shot to solidify himself as an all-time great Yankee," Mintz explained. 

Mintz continued: 

"There are three ways this goes down: (1) Judge signs back with the Yankees before December 1 and this is much ado about nothing; (2) Judge and his team toss rumors around to jack up the price and squeeze every last dollar out of the Yankees, a deal happens after the New Year; (3) A late-winter shocker puts Judge in a new uniform."

Mintz also added that there's "scuttlebutt about Judge's returning home to Northern California" to play for the San Francisco Giants, "but it's little more than speculation at this point." 

As far back as September, reports surfaced claiming that MLB insiders and even other clubs assumed Judge will re-sign with the Yankees after he rejected New York's seven-year, $213.5 million contract extension offer before the start of the 2022 season. 

While Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote in late October that "there appears to be some real concern within the Yankees' ranks about their chances to keep Judge," Heyman more recently said that the Yankees were "feeling more confident" about landing the signature of the four-time All-Star selection before the winter months. 

In an update shared on Nov. 3, Heyman predicted Judge will ultimately receive a nine-year contract worth around $330 million. Mintz said Judge's value is "probably in the $300 million range" and that the price likely "will eliminate about half of MLB from the sweepstakes before they even begin."