NEW YORK — Brian Cashman, the general manager of the New York Yankees, knows that Aaron Judge’s record-setting season was a gold mine for the player. He has predicted that their star slugger will have “a pot of gold” for his next contract and this means the Yankees realize that they must pay more to keep their star slugger.
Aaron Judge, an All-Star outfielder for the Yankees, couldn’t reach a deal with the team in spring training to extend his contract. He is going to be a free agent and remains in high demand this offseason. In April, just before the season started, the slugger turned down a deal that would have paid him $213.5 million over seven years, from 2023 to 2029.
Aaron Judge is eligible for free agency and will be worth a lot more after setting the most AL single-season home runs with 62 homers, getting to the top of the MLB with 131 RBIs, and coming close to winning the Triple Crown with a .311 batting average. He is also the top contender for the AL MVP award.
The Yankees want to keep their star outfielder, but Brian Cashman, the team’s man Friday, knows that Aaron Judge’s record-setting season will make it more expensive for the New York Yankees to get him to agree to a new contract.
As his team was getting ready to meet the Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS series two days later, Cashman told on Sunday:
“There’s a pot of gold there. It’s yet to be determined what the gold — how much it weighs — but it’s a pot of gold, no doubt about it. So good for him. It was already a big pot and, obviously, it’ll be bigger.”
This season, Judge was paid $19 million under a one-year deal that kept him from having to go to an arbitration hearing. During the season, he never talked about his preference for any team or about his contract and remained focused on his game. However, his hoodie gave an indication of his preference.
Admiring Aaron Judge for his record haul and a historic season, Cashman said that he won’t leave any option to resign the power hitter. The Yankees’ general manager was hopeful to retain him.
According to Cashman:
“He’s put himself in an amazing position to have a lot of choices. And clearly, obviously, we’d like to win the day on that discussion, and that’s obviously for another day. But we said that before the season. We said that many times during the season. If you need to hear it again. I’ll say it again: Yeah, of course we love to have Aaron Judge back as New York Yankee, but that’s all for another day.”
Through the first 15 days after the World Series, only New York can talk to Aaron Judge about terms. After that, any team can make an offer.
Aaron Judge was picked by the Yankees in the draft in 2013 and hit a home run in his first at-bat in the majors three years later. Since Derek Jeter retired, the Yankees’ new big man is this 30-year-old power hitter from California. He has been an All-Star four times and has hit 220 home runs in seven seasons. He is already the fans’ favorite because of his on-field exploits and carries their hope for the Yankees’ first title win since 2009.
Multiple MLB sources have recently claimed that the Giants are one of the teams most likely to sign Aaron Judge. Projections show that he could have a contract worth between $259 million and $375 million over seven to ten years.
Michael Kay, who calls Yankees games for the YES Network, told Dan Patrick that Aaron Judge likely made more than $100 million more than the $213 million he was offered last year and Yankees have a 60% chance of keeping him.
Buster Olney, an analyst for ESPN, thinks Aaron Judge could add to his historic 62-homer season in the Bay. Olney said, “The contract he’ll get in the offseason will start with the number three, as in $300 million.” Judge’s bat will have a lot of competition. Olney mentioned the New York Mets as well as the Giants, but it looks like the Yankees have the best chance of signing him.
Aaron Judge, on the other hand, has never said anything about leaving the Yankees. Instead, he told:
“I’ve said I want to be a Yankee for life. I want to bring a championship back to New York. I want to do it for the fans. They are my family. This is my home, and to not make it right now, it stinks….. At the end of the year, I’m a free agent. I can talk to 30 teams and the Yankees will be one of those 30 teams.”
What do you think? Will Aaron Judge stay or leave the Yankees? Leave a comment below.
