MLB commissioner addresses whether Mets, Yankees colluded on Aaron Judge

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred believes the New York Yankees and New York Mets followed rules regarding the free agency of slugger Aaron Judge. 

"I was a labor [lawyer] first, and labor rule one is you want to make sure when you make an agreement, you live up to the agreement," Manfred explained while speaking Thursday at the MLB headquarters located in midtown Manhattan, per Dan Martin of the New York Post and Jeff Passan of ESPN. "I’m absolutely confident that the clubs behaved in a way that was consistent with the agreement. This was based on [an internet] report." 

It was previously reported that the MLB Players Association requested that MLB look into whether the Yankees and Mets violated the collective bargaining agreement after it was said earlier this month the Amazins don't "plan to fight the Yankees this offseason" for Judge's signature. This is in part because Mets owner Steve Cohen and Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner allegedly enjoy a "mutually respectful relationship." Judge hit free agency last week and is eligible to sign with any team. 

The collective bargaining agreement says that "clubs shall not act in concert with other clubs" as it pertains to "the dispersal of information on player contracts." Manfred confirmed the league is looking into the Judge matter but is only in the early stages of an investigation. 

"We will put ourselves in a position to demonstrate credibly to the MLBPA that this is not an issue," Manfred added. "I’m sure that’s gonna be the outcome. But obviously, we understand the emotion that surrounds that word [collusion] and we’ll proceed accordingly." 

The Mets may be on the cusp of offering ace Jacob deGrom a noteworthy pay increase via a new deal that theoretically could keep them from matching Judge's asking price. Meanwhile, Steinbrenner strongly suggested that the Yankees' payroll won't prevent him from splashing the cash to keep Judge — even if clubs such as the Mets, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers make massive bids for the Linden, California, native before or after Thanksgiving. 

It's unknown when Judge plans to make a final decision about his baseball future.