Yankees Opening Day 2023: Who are the Yankees playing in their 2023 season opener?

With the season in the rearview, the New York Yankees will have one of the busiest offseasons of any MLB franchise. After winning the American League East and cruising through the postseason to set up a date with their modern rivals, the Houston Astros, the Bronx Bombers fell in four games.

Now, the Yankees will need to reassess their roster and determine which weaknesses they will need to bolster. However, they must first address the elephant in the room: will Aaron Judge re-sign with the team?

While New York seems determined and optimistic that they will be able to extend the American League MVP, there is another team with their eyes set on landing the biggest fish in free agency. The competition is the San Francisco Giants, who interestingly enough, will be the Opening Day opponent for the Yankees.

"30 years ago: 1992: Barry Bonds wins MVP. Lost in LCS. Batted .311. Signs with hometown team, San Francisco Giants on December 6. 2022: Aaron Judge wins MVP. Lost in LCS. Batted .311. Childhood team, #SFGiants…Fun fact: @BarryBonds nearly signed with Yankees. @TheJudge44" - @MartinezSF_

On March 30, 2023, the New York Yankees will welcome the San Francisco Giants to the Bronx, however, it remains to be seen which uniform Aaron Judge will be rocking. If he elects to remain with New York, he will continue to be the leader of the "Evil Empire".

However, if Judge returns to New York as a member of the Giants in his very first game outside of the Yankee organization, it's difficult to guess what the fan reaction will be. New York fans are notoriously fickle and vile to former players. While he may receive his share of boos, he was the club's first MVP since Alex Rodriguez in 2007.

"Giants fans following Aaron Judge around San Francisco this week" - BetMGM

New York and San Francisco will play three games in the Bronx to begin the 2023 season. There will be plenty of opportunities to boo Aaron Judge if he moves to the Bay Area.

A look at Aaron Judge's 2022 MVP season with the Yankees

En route to a 99-63 season, New York secured the American League East title with relative ease, finishing the season 7.0 games ahead of the second-placed Toronto Blue Jays.

The team's success can be directly attributed to Aaron Judge's historic season. Judge finished the season with an abundance of new career-high statistics. He set new highs in home runs (62), RBIs (131), walks (111), runs (133), and games played (157). He also set new career highs in OBP (.425), slugging percentage (.686), and total bases (391).