Big Papi: Aaron Judge Would be 'Perfect' for New York Mets
In this story:
Baseball legend David "Big Papi" Ortiz praised the Mets, who he compared to the Boston Red Sox team that was in the midst of an 80-year curse when he arrived in 2003.
"The Mets are not too far away," Ortiz told Inside the Mets via zoom on Monday. "They have good players and are on the right track. Now they have to re-sign Jacob deGrom and go from there."
New York led the NL East for almost the entirety of the 2022 regular season and finished with 101 wins, but squandered away the division title, before getting knocked out in the Wild Card round by the San Diego Padres.
According to Ortiz, the Mets had the "perfect team," but they didn't come together at the right time.
"(The Mets) just didn't click when they had to. That used to happen with the Red Sox. Then Papi showed up and everything changed, so they probably need a Papi."
The Red Sox of course broke their 80-year curse without a World Series ring in Ortiz's second season with the club in 2004. They went on to win a total of three championships during Ortiz's tenure in Boston.
So, who compares to a "Papi" level acquisition for the Mets? Ortiz says the Mets should approach Yankees superstar slugger and AL MVP front runner Aaron Judge and make him an offer he can't refuse in free agency.
"I think the Mets should approach (Judge)," Ortiz said. "If I'm the Mets, I would give him $50 million for the next 5-6 years."
"(Judge) would be perfect for the Mets because he'd be hitting second in that lineup, and he can play all three outfield spots," he added.
Although Ortiz thinks Judge should be the highest paid player in baseball, he would not give him a 10-year deal.
"He should be the highest paid player in the game. But I would not give him a 10-year deal because of his injury history."
After declining the Yankees' seven-year, $213.5 million extension prior to Opening Day, Judge went out and had the best contract year of all-time.
Now, Judge is setup to make record-breaking money, and Ortiz thinks the Mets would be an ideal landing spot for the slugger.
Giving Back to the Community
On Monday, Ortiz helped unveil a newly refurbished sports facility for the Boys & Girls Club of LA Harbor, which was renovated as a result of LoanDepot's “Home Means Everything” initiative to support local youth.
LoanDepot took a field in Los Angeles that had been out of commission for many years and rejuvenated it by creating a new facility for the Boys & Girls club.
"Throughout my career I was involved in the Boys & Girls club, but on this occasion, LoanDepot has been great with giving back to the community," Ortiz said.
"Sports are always going to be a way to go beyond because today there are so many reasons for kids to stay at home. To have a facility like this one, where kids can come and play sports, it means a lot. When you're a teenager, your environment is very important and so is who you surround yourself with."
Following the unveiling of the new facility, Ortiz, a Baseball Hall of Famer, will be coaching a baseball clinic with the local BGCLA kids.
As he mentors hundreds of kids in BGCLA, Ortiz stressed the importance of mentorship and how fortunate he was to have his parents provide this type of support for him growing up.
"Having a mentor is something that goes beyond everything," he said. "I always emphasize how important it is to choose who you'd like to advise you on how things work. That's priceless. I was lucky enough to have really good mentors to guide me in life."
As excited as Ortiz is to work with this initiative, LoanDepot is equally as excited to team up with the 10-time All-Star.
Says LoanDepot's executive vice president, chief administrative officer TJ Freeborn:
"We're very proud to be working with David on our 'home means everything' campaign. We love the fact that he supports the communities that he's a part of, which is just what LoanDepot does as well. We support the communities that we live and work in and we care about them deeply."
Read More:
- Mets Free Agents: Who Stays, Who Goes
- Mets Have Had Dialogue With Jacob deGrom
- Mets to Make Strong Push to Re-Sign Edwin Diaz Before Free Agency
Follow Pat Ragazzo on Twitter (@ragazzoreport), be sure to bookmark Inside The Mets and check back daily for news, analysis and more.
