The Yankees giving Freeman the 6th guaranteed year that he wants is "reasonable" in the sense that that may make more sense than giving the consistently-injured Judge $30 million per - "reasonable" being used loosely obviously.
The Red Sox would be better served spending on a Devers extension and plugging Casas in at 1B. The Angels would be better off keeping Walsh at 1B and spending on pitching. The Blue Jays would be better off leaving Vlad Jr. as a defensive player rather than full-time DH so he doesn't get fat again. The Dodgers would probably be better off going one of several different ways and the Giants just don't look like they're interested in spending that type of money on anyone since they didn't chase one of the high-end SPs and haven't re-signed Bryant. But the Yankees, well...
You can make the argument that there's NO ONE built to hit in Yankee Stadium more than Freeman. Since there's no chance they'll be able to get out from under the Stanton deal, they'd probably prefer to only have one OF/DH that hits from the right side making $30 million a year. Judge is going to be looking for (and will probably get) more than 5 years next winter, meaning he'd be on their books longer than Freddie even if they gave him 6. With Haniger and Wil Myers available next winter and Gallo likely to be less-expensive to re-sign than Judge, there's at least an argument to be made that they'd be better off signing Freeman to hit in front of Stanton, re-signing Gallo to hit behind him, and chasing Haniger to play RF and hit 6th next winter.
Not saying I think that's a brilliant plan - and I think it's still fair to wonder whether Freddie would want any part of playing in New York - but it actually does make a little sense for them, especially if they want someone as a clubhouse leader as much as it looks like they do.
The Red Sox would be better served spending on a Devers extension and plugging Casas in at 1B. The Angels would be better off keeping Walsh at 1B and spending on pitching. The Blue Jays would be better off leaving Vlad Jr. as a defensive player rather than full-time DH so he doesn't get fat again. The Dodgers would probably be better off going one of several different ways and the Giants just don't look like they're interested in spending that type of money on anyone since they didn't chase one of the high-end SPs and haven't re-signed Bryant. But the Yankees, well...
You can make the argument that there's NO ONE built to hit in Yankee Stadium more than Freeman. Since there's no chance they'll be able to get out from under the Stanton deal, they'd probably prefer to only have one OF/DH that hits from the right side making $30 million a year. Judge is going to be looking for (and will probably get) more than 5 years next winter, meaning he'd be on their books longer than Freddie even if they gave him 6. With Haniger and Wil Myers available next winter and Gallo likely to be less-expensive to re-sign than Judge, there's at least an argument to be made that they'd be better off signing Freeman to hit in front of Stanton, re-signing Gallo to hit behind him, and chasing Haniger to play RF and hit 6th next winter.
Not saying I think that's a brilliant plan - and I think it's still fair to wonder whether Freddie would want any part of playing in New York - but it actually does make a little sense for them, especially if they want someone as a clubhouse leader as much as it looks like they do.
