Could Aaron Judge end up with the San Francisco Giants?
LINDEN -- Aaron Judge will enter the offseason as a free agent, and the San Francisco Giants may have their eyes on him.
"It's pretty incredible when you drive into Linden, and you see the home of Aaron Judge," says Linden native Joe Dondero.
Aaron Judge finished a legendary season with the New York Yankees, falling short of a trip to the World Series.
Now the 6'7" slugger is a free agent.
"I've got two Giants jerseys in my life: Barry Bonds, Buster Posey, and Aaron Judge would be the third," says Dondero, who played Little League with Judge.
"He pitched back then, and you did not want to face Aaron Judge pitching," says Dondero.
Like so many Linden neighbors, Dondero is pulling for the right fielder to head home, but how likely is that?
"I think it's probably 60 percent he leaves the Yankees," says Sports Analyst Kenny Caraway, who says the Yankees fumbled negotiations, and now Aaron could be convinced to come home. But it's going to cost the Giants.
"I think they're going to have to get into at least $400 million," says Caraway.
It's a potential price tag Caraway says the team can afford, but how?
"They are printing money over there at Oracle Park. They have all the money they brought in from the 2010s as a World Series team, the fact that the stadium has been paid off for so long," says Caraway.
According to a 2022 evaluation from Forbes, the San Francisco Giants are valued at $3.5 billion.
"And to be honest with you, they haven't spent a whole lot of it," says Caraway.
The Giants are likely competing with wealthy franchises, including the Dodgers and Yankees.