Angels news: Aaron Judge, MLB news, more

The stove is on fire! After things seemed to be favoring the Giants last night, Aaron Judge has opted to sign with the New York Yankees on a nine-year $360 million dollar deal. This contract is insane and likely won't age well, but it doesn't matter. The Yankees got their guy back.

What does this mean for Shohei Ohtani? The two-way phenom signed a one-year $30 million dollar deal to avoid arbitration. This is his final year of team control before hitting free agency. We all hope he remains an Angel, but after seeing this Judge contract an extension seems very unlikely.

Ohtani will test the market most likely and I wonder what his demands will be. If he has another MVP caliber season, can he demand something like $45 million dollars annually for ten years? Is that not enough? There has never been a player like Ohtani before so nobody knows what he's actually worth.

It'll be fascinating to see how it all plays out. Hopefully the new owner will just find a way to pay him.

More Angels news:

Speaking of a new owner, Commissioner Rob Manfred says that he's hopeful the Angels sale goes through by Opening Day. There are plenty of interested buyers, it's just about getting it all done. Is it likely? I honestly don't know. We just have to hope everything goes smoothly and the club ends up in the right hands.

A new sale could mean many things. Hopefully what it does mean is the Angels have stability at the ownership spot and someone willing to do whatever it takes to win.

MLB news:

The Cubs have signed Jameson Taillon to a four-year $68 million dollar deal. Taillon was a guy I thought the Angels might have interest in, but at that price I can see why they weren't.

The Phillies have signed Matt Strahm to a two-year $15 million dollar deal. This is another indication of how wild the reliever market is. Philadelphia keeps spending.

Speaking of the Phillies, they also signed Taijuan Walker to a four-year $72 million dollar deal. The Angels have to be thanking Tyler Anderson every day for the contract he signs. Had he waited another month he would've gotten much more than he ended up getting.

The Pirates won the first ever MLB Draft Lottery and will have the first overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. The Angels were slotted in at 10th but the Twins ended up jumping into the top five, so they fell to 11th which is unfortunate, but not a big deal.

The Rangers have signed Andrew Heaney to a two-year $25 million dollar deal. The contract can go up to $37 million dollars with incentives. Heaney has the ability to opt-out as well after the first season. The Rangers add another starting pitcher and become more formidable after adding the former Angel.

The Giants signed Mitch Haniger to a three-year $43.5 million dollar deal. They didn't land Judge, but Haniger isn't a horrible consolation prize. Haniger is a guy the Angels were linked to before acquiring Hunter Renfroe.

The Cubs signed Cody Bellinger to a one-year $17.5 million dollar deal. They will bank on getting something out of him offensively while Bellinger hopes to regain his MVP form.

Josh Bell signed a two-year $33 million dollar deal with the Guardians. After being one game shy of the ALCS, the Guardians add some much needed power.