The Tampa Bay Rays are known for having very little money and being unable to spend big on free agents. However, the Tampa Bay Times has reported that the Rays attempted to sign MLB superstar Aaron Judge in free agency last season.
Judge and the New York Yankees were unable to agree to a contract extension and he entered unrestricted free agency. Before ultimately re-signing with the Yankees, he negotiated with plenty of the usual suspects. The closest team to luring Judge away appeared to be the San Francisco Giants, where several false reports had him agreeing to a deal and signing.
Behind The Rays Offer
One team nobody expected to hear however is the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays have let plenty of their franchise cornerstones walk in free agency. They’ve also traded star players before they would have to be paid, such as Cy Young winner Blake Snell. To fathom them signing Judge is difficult.
The Rays offered Judge a 10-year, $300 million contract. While this was well outbid, this is an impressive offer for the Rays. How they could afford this is quizzical, given their financial state. The Rays likely were planning for the impact of Judge to pay for his contract. Judge routinely finds himself in the top-selling jerseys in the majors. Perhaps Judge would sell enough merchandise to cover his contract.
This also may have been an attempt to bring more fans to games. The Rays have continually struggled with fan attendance, but adding Judge would change that. Adding Judge would give a huge name for Rays fans to see.
Between the increase in fan attendance and the skyrocketing merchandise sales, the Rays may have been able to cover the cost of the contract through Judge himself. This is a very unique situation, however, as the majority of free agents do not have this ability. Do not expect the Rays to make offers like this very often. The Rays trying to sign Aaron Judge was an unlikely and unique event.
