May 11, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) waits in the batters box against the Tampa Bay Rays during the eighth inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports / Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports

Aaron Judge had quite the walk year in 2022. Entering the final year of team control with the New York Yankees, Judge broke the American League, single-season home run record with 62, breaking Roger Maris’ mark. That helped Judge earn American League MVP and become the most sought-after free agent in MLB free agency that winter.

How sought after was Judge? Well, one team that is notorious for not spending big bucks in free agency made a gigantic offer to the outfielder.

Judge revealed recently that the Tampa Bay Rays, the AL East rivals to the Yankees, reached out to his agent during free agency. According to Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays are believed to have offered Judge a 10-year, $300 million deal.

As we all know, Judge remained with the Yankees (after a brief scare from the San Francisco Giants) on a nine-year, $360 million deal.

Rays made 10-year, $300 million offer to Aaron Judge in free agency

Even though the Rays made the massive offer to Judge, he admitted that it was hard envisioning playing for them. It wasn’t necessarily the contract. Not to mention, Judge and his wife live in Tampa during the offseason.

Rather, it was due to the fact that he spent the entirety of his major league career preparing to beat the Rays as a member of the Yankees.

“It was a very respectful (offer), and I appreciated that they reached out and that they thought enough of me to do that,” Judge said, h/t the Tampa Bay Times. “And I respect their team. I respect what they have built here. They have a good club, and their team is tough.

“But it was so hard to think about (playing for them), because I’ve spent my whole career game-planning against them and trying to beat them.”

The Rays have a reputation in the league where they are not big spenders in free agency. Not only that, but they’d look to trade away their stars instead of trading them. That’s not just from fans, but actual players in the league. Take a look at what anonymous players said in the MLB players poll, courtesy of The Athletic.

“When it comes time to pay players, they usually trade them.”

“They get rid of you once you get expensive — or close to it.”

“They’re not player-friendly.”

The largest contract ever given out by the Rays happens to be Wander Franco, who they gave a 12-year, $182 million. Currently, Franco has been placed on the restricted list by MLB due to serious charges he’s facing in the Dominican Republic.

The Rays, along with the Giants and San Diego Padres, made offers to Judge in the winter of 2022. However, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner got Judge to agree to terms on a new contract while vacationing in Italy.

You can’t fault the Rays for trying to sign one of the best players in baseball. While the offer was gigantic, it just wasn’t enough for Judge to switch sides in the AL East.