Can Dodgers steal Aaron Judge from NL West rival Giants?

The AL MVP race between Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge may soon morph from an on-field head-to-head into a debate within the Dodgers’ front office.

Judge will hit the market this winter after drilling 60+ homers for a first-place Yankees team that believes they have a chance to run the table. Ohtani won’t be a free agent until after next season, and probably won’t be traded (to the Dodgers) until the Angels’ new ownership group assesses just how embarrassed they’d like to be, but there’s at least some chatter he’ll hit the market sooner than 2023-24.

So, what’ll it be? Judge or Ohtani in LA? Or maybe Trea Turner and pitching? You can never be sure how the Dodgers are going to spend their money — especially when all their rivals are poised to enter the bidding and spoil the fun.

The First Annual Games of the Aaron Judge Olympiad seems likely to include the incumbent Yankees, the slugger’s hometown Giants, and Steve Cohen’s big, bad Mets, which an ESPN panel of experts concluded again this week in a survey as the postseason approaches.

According to the execs surveyed, the Yankees were deemed the most likely “next step” with four votes, while the Giants lagged behind with three. Interestingly enough, though, one of the three people who picked the Giants suggested the Dodgers still had an opportunity to lure him away as the second-likeliest option.

One anonymous MLB insider thinks Dodgers could sign Aaron Judge. But one isn’t zero!

Judge, who’s proven in 2022 that he’s a solid center fielder as well as a spectacular right fielder, could slide into Cody Bellinger’s shoes and immediately upgrade the outfield significantly. No offense to Trayce Thompson, who’s been wonderful, but if the opportunity to add Judge emerges at a reasonable cost, you probably do it, especially if Farhan Zaidi fumbles the bag in the process.

Judge is 30 years old, but reaching heights he hasn’t sniffed since his rookie season in 2022. There’s a good chance the back end of his contract grows sour, but hell, that’s what teams like the Dodgers are for, right? Why have a payroll advantage at all if you can’t use it to absorb prime years of a superstar while insuring against the age-36+ seasons?

Not saying it’s going to happen. Just saying that at least one insider believes the Giants (and Yankees, and Mets…) should be scared of the thief lurking in the night.

Judge vs. Ohtani? Why not both?

Dodgers Rumors: Trea Turner free agency won’t be threatened by Yankees

The New York Yankees, who are supposed to be threats in free agency, could help the Los Angeles Dodgers by bowing out of the Trea Turner race.