The New York Yankees need to show Aaron Judge the money.
But just how much will it take for the right fielder to sign a long-term contract extension?
The 29-year-old Judge is eligible for arbitration this winter and is scheduled to become a free agent following the 2022 season.
The New York Post’s Joel Sherman took a stab at possible contract terms for a new deal with Judge: five years and $189 million.
Judge would be treated like a free agent now, which would remove the risk of injury or a downturn in performance in 2022 harming his value after that season. That total would give him an annual value of $37.8 million annually, which would top Gerrit Cole’s $36 million for the highest ever. The Yanks would essentially be paying record dollars annually to avoid what would concern them most — going long with Judge.
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Working against Judge in negotiations are his age (he turns 30 in April) and his history of injuries.
However Judge is a three-time All-Star, a former Home Run Derby champion and the 2017 American League Rookie of the Year, making him the face of the franchise. And don’t forget Judge led the Yankees this year in every major offensive category: batting average (.287), home runs (39), RBI (98), on-base percentage (.373), slugging percentage (.544), OPS (.916) and WAR (5.9).
Judge, for his part, made his feelings about a new deal quite clear following Tuesday’s 6-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox in the American League Wild Card Game. Per NJ Advance Media’s Randy Miller:
“I want to be a Yankee for life,” he said. “I want to wear these pinstripes the rest of my career and represent this great organization and bring a championship back to the city. But you never know what the future holds for you. That’s kind of out of my hands. All I can really do is continue to show up here, continue to try to lead these guys and give what I can for this team and this city every single day. Whatever happens on the flip side of that with contracts and this and that, getting traded … it’s out of my control. All I know is I can control what I can and just continue to bring it and be a good teammate and a great leader for this team.”
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Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com.
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