GIants' Logan Webb will decline to plunk Aaron Judge on Opening Day

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb has made it clear he's OK with the decision New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge made during free agency. 

Per Alex Espinoza of Audacy, Webb was jokingly asked during a Friday appearance on the local 'Willard & Dibs' radio program if he would be willing to plunk Judge in the Giants' Opening Day clash with the Yankees, scheduled to be played in the Bronx on March 30. Judge flirted with signing with the Giants before he opted to return to New York over the offseason.

"No, I will not," Webb directly responded. "Look, I was as sad as anyone else when he didn’t sign with us. But he’s a great dude. Happy for him that he got that big contract out there." 

As mentioned by Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, Webb was officially announced as San Francisco's Opening Day starter on Tuesday. 

Judge had repeatedly been linked with the Giants throughout November and early December, in part because he grew up a San Francisco fan as a native of Linden, California. MLB insider Jon Heyman famously and incorrectly tweeted on Dec. 6 that Judge appeared headed to the Giants, but the reigning American League Most Valuable Player instead re-signed with the Yankees on a nine-year, $360M agreement. 

While speaking with reporters this past Tuesday, Webb admitted he expects to receive a rude welcome in New York on the first day of the 2023 season. 

"I'm sure Yankee fans will be the nicest to me before the game, so I'm excited about that," he joked at the time, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Judge has suggested he always "wanted to re-sign with the Yankees" and he was named the 16th team captain in club history after inking his new mega-deal. Still, one imagines Webb and others associated with the Giants might long wonder what could have been had the four-time All-Star selection chosen differently ahead of Christmas.