Report: Padres were late serious contenders in Judge pursuit

The San Diego Padres took a major run at Aaron Judge before the reigning AL MVP reportedly agreed to re-sign with the New York Yankees on Wednesday.

San Diego offered Judge a $400-million contract before he ended up taking a nine-year, $360-million deal from the Yankees, according to NJ.com's Brendan Kuty.

While everyone was speculating Aaron Judge had flown to San Diego to deal w/ the Yankees and Giants in person, it was to talk through things w/ the Padres, who had offered $400M. He arrived yesterday late afternoon and has already bounced — $360M richer.
— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) December 7, 2022

However, there are conflicting reports about the Padres' offer. Team officials met with Judge on Tuesday night at Petco Park but it was too late to present a formal offer, sources told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

The club also reportedly missed out on All-Star Trea Turner after offering to make him the richest shortstop in MLB history with a $342-million deal before he joined the Philadelphia Phillies on an 11-year, $300-million pact Monday.

San Diego is still interested in adding star shortstop Xander Bogaerts, according to Rosenthal.

The team already has Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. signed to contracts worth $300 million-plus, and the club has expressed a desire to sign Juan Soto to an extension.