SAN DIEGO -- The Giants’ search for a superstar continues, as top free-agent target Aaron Judge agreed to a landmark nine-year, $360 million deal with the Yankees, a source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand on Wednesday.

The Yankees were viewed as the favorites to retain Judge, but the Giants seemed to be gaining momentum on Tuesday, when a report indicated the reigning American League MVP appeared ready to sign with San Francisco before being retracted minutes later.

The Giants made a hard push for Judge, reportedly making him an offer in the neighborhood of $360 million, but they ultimately fell short in their latest pursuit of a high-profile free agent, much like they did with Bryce Harper in 2019.

Despite Judge’s local ties -- he grew up in Linden, Calif., and idolized Rich Aurilia as a kid -- he ultimately preferred to stay with the Yankees, who are expected to name him their next team captain. Judge also spurned the Padres, who reportedly made a late bid to try to land the All-Star outfielder.

President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said he received a text from Judge’s agents, Page Odle and Dave Matranga, around 5 a.m. PT Wednesday informing him of Judge’s decision.

“The phone buzzing at 5 a.m. is rarely good news,” Zaidi said. “Obviously, there’s disappointment. We put in a lot of time and effort and energy into it. From an organization standpoint, we’re disappointed. But I think from the standpoint of the industry, you’ve got a great player and a great franchise. He’s got a chance to be there his entire career. I think there’s a lot of good in that for the game. That was a pretty strong force that we were up against.”

While disappointed with the outcome, Zaidi said he was confident Judge and his agents acted in good faith and didn’t simply use the Giants as leverage in their negotiations with the Yankees.

“Anytime you’re pursuing a free agent, they don’t owe you anything,” Zaidi said. “They’re entitled to evaluate different options. … I think they gave us an opportunity to sell ourselves, our situation, our organization. They just made the right decision for them.”

With Judge unavailable, the Giants are now expected to pivot to the deep class of free-agent shortstops, which is down to Carlos Correa and Dansby Swanson. Potential targets Trea Turner and Xander Bogaerts came off the board after agreeing to 11-year deals with the Phillies and Padres, respectively.

The 28-year-old Correa looms as a particularly good fit for the Giants, as he’s the youngest of the group and could help significantly bolster a defense that ranked among the worst in the Majors in 2022.

San Francisco is also looking for a second outfielder to pair with Mitch Haniger, who agreed to a three-year, $43.5 million deal on Tuesday. Given their desire to get more athletic up the middle, the Giants could now try to target a center fielder such as Brandon Nimmo, who was at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego to meet with teams this week.

Former Giants prospect Bryan Reynolds, who reportedly requested a trade from the Pirates, and A’s center fielder Ramón Laureano could also be among the options available on the trade market. 

“We always knew this was a possible outcome, so we’ve done a lot of work on our other options,” Zaidi said. “We’re having trade conversations. We’re trying to balance all of those. We’ll kind of reevaluate our board and still look for ways to improve next year.”