NEW YORK — The Yankees got extra innings to work with after the rainout on Thursday. The team had an extra 24 hours to try and lock up Aaron Judge, the face of the franchise, beyond this season. Yankees GM Brian Cashman reiterated on Monday that Judge would have a multi-year offer before opening day. With the weather pushing opening day back to Friday, the Yankees got an extra day to try and reach an agreement on a contract with Judge.
A team source confirmed the Yankees did indeed make an offer that would give the slugger the highest average annual value for a position player in team history.
“If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, I’ll see you guys after the game,” Judge said hours before Friday’s first pitch, which was scheduled for 1:08 p.m. “This was the deadline. I don’t want to be a distraction during the year. We have so many things to focus on, and a lot of good things happening, so I don’t want this to be a distraction for the team all year.”
Yankees fans heading to Yankee Stadium for the season opener against the Red Sox have to hope the Yankees used their extra time wisely.
The slugger, who initially set the opening-day deadline for negotiations, still doesn’t have any set contract for this season, because he and the team were $4 million off when they traded numbers to try and avoid arbitration. Because of the owners’ lockout, the arbitration process will go into the season.
While Judge has professed his desire to remain with the Yankees for his entire career, one teammate signaled a warning.
“When it comes to the business side of it, there’s no secret,” Anthony Rizzo said. “Freddie Freeman isn’t a Brave anymore. There’s no loyalty in this game.”
That is the last thing Judge wants on his mind once the season opens.
“Today’s the deadline, so either we’ll be talking about an extension or no extension, then we’ll be done with it and on to baseball,” he said. “To be going down this route with the Yankees is something special. I know I’m here through this year, my last arbitration year, and that’s what I’m going to focus on. I’ve got one year to play, and contract extension stuff is nice, but I’ve got bigger things to focus on.”
Like a matchup against the Yankees’ biggest rivals, which Judge said he was pumped up for. “I slept great. ... I’m excited, this is like the first day of school.”
The 29-year-old is coming off one of his most complete years in the big leagues.
The three-time All-Star slashed .287/.373/.544 with a .916 OPS, 39 homers and 93 RBIs in 148 games in 2021. According to Baseball Savant, Judge was among the league leaders in average exit velocity (95.8 miles per hour), max exit velo (119) and hard-hit percentage (58.4%). He led the Yankees in WAR (5.4).
Overall, his six years in the big leagues have been exceptional, averaging .276/.386/.553 and a .940 OPS. He was the 2017 Rookie of the Year, runner-up to Jose Altuve in that same season and a Home Run Derby champion.
One major league executive suggested a five-year, $185 year deal would be a good one for Judge. He used comps from Alex Bregman and George Springer for a contract guideline. Bregman signed a five-year $10 -million extension with the Astros in his age-25 season. Springer signed a six-year, $150 million deal with the Blue Jays after the 2020 season, when he was 31.
The Yankees had consistently said they wanted to work something out with Judge.
“We’re gonna have to engage in order to get a contract. When that happens, we’re not going to say or predict, but we’re on the clock obviously between now and his free agency. And if nothing gets done prior to free agency obviously it doesn’t mean we don’t want him, he can come back as a free agent too,” Cashman said last week. “So we’re the only team that can talk to him now. At some point those conversations will happen or will happen and we’ll try to keep it as private as we can. But like anything else, just like trades and free agents, you just got to be on the same page and find common ground.
“We’re happy he’s a Yankee and it’ll be great if we can make it longer than this year.”
The thought of being a free agent and testing what his worth would be on the open market, really doesn’t hold any special place for him.
“If it comes to it, maybe but like I said before, I want to play here,” Judge said. “I want to finish my career here. There’s no better place to play. So I’m hoping we don’t get to that but if we do, I think I’ll be ready for it.”
———
With Matthew Roberson
