Rumors that Aaron Judge unfollowed the Yankees on Instagram were greatly exaggerated.
In fact, it’s unclear if Judge ever followed the Yankees on the ‘gram in the first place.
ABC7 New York’s Ryan Field got the ball rolling, sharing a screenshot purporting to show that the free agent slugger unfollowed the only major league organization for which he has played.
The eagle-eyed social media sleuths at Jomboy Media’s “Talkin’ Yanks” account pointed out that the same rumor that Judge had unfollowed the Yankees made the rounds more than a year ago, well before any period in which Judge would’ve been preparing to part ways with the franchise.
The 30-year-old is coming off a season in which he broke Roger Maris’ American League home run record with 62 dingers, and is expected to receive a contract in excess of $300 million.
Judge turned down a seven-year, $213.5 million pact with the Yankees before this season.
Earlier this week, The Post’s Jon Heyman reported that the Bombers have some “trepidation” about retaining Judge. Should the slugger depart in free agency, Heyman pegged the Giants, Dodgers and Mets as the three likeliest destinations.
The Yankees would love to bring Judge back, but it remains to be seen if owner Hal Steinbrenner can emerge victorious in a bidding war.
“Hopefully we’ll see him for years to come in pinstripes,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after they were swept by the Astros in the ALCS. “I don’t even want to think about the alternative right now. He means a lot to a lot of us in that room.”
Judge has been holding his cards close to the vest.
“I’ve never been a free agent,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”