The anxiety of fans over the free agency of Aaron Judge soothes on Friday after Hal Steinbrenner, the owner of the Yankees, expressed his readiness to do everything possible to re-sign the power hitter. Judge is into his free agency this offseason after rejecting a $213.5 million, seven-year Yankees offer before the 2022 season started. He instead, opted for a one-season contract that ended with New York’s ALCS exit.
When asked if he thought Aaron Judge would stay with the Yankees, Steinbrenner replied:
“I’ve told him that’s what we want. He’s very important to this group, and I told him we’d do everything we could to make that happen.”
On Friday, YES Network released a promo video of Hal Steinbrenner’s interview with reporter Meredith Markovits. It was the owner’s first detailed, exclusive interview after the regular season.
The video showed Steinbrenner saying that he had “made it clear” to Aaron Judge that the franchise wants him to return as he prepares to enter the first year of his career in which he is eligible for free agency. Judge is a leading candidate for the American League Most Valuable Player award. Steinbrenner said that he has “talked to Judge more than once” since the end of the campaign and that the talks have been “good.”
“I have had more than one conversation with Aaron since the season ended. I’ll leave it at that. A very positive conversation.”
Aaron Judge’s bet is expected to pay off handsomely, as he is now expected to receive up to $100 million more than that offer of a seven-year, $213.5 million contract extension ahead of the season. It was later told in the media by general manager Brian Cashman.
Aaron Judge just had one of the best offensive seasons ever, when he hit 62 home runs and set an American League and a franchise record. He is likely to get a lot of attention when he becomes a free agent. The San Francisco Giants have been linked to him. He is also the 2022 league leader with 131 RBIs and 133 runs.
With .686 slugging percentage, 111 walks, and 391 bases, he tops the AL. His .425 on-base percentage and 1.111 OPS too are above others.
However, Aaron Judge was not successful during the postseason, which caused the crowd at Yankee Stadium to boo him on multiple occasions.
When asked on Thursday if the negative reaction from fans in October could affect Judge’s decision to stay with the Yankees, manager Aaron Boone said “No.” He told:
“He’s beloved here. He knows that. He loves it here. He loves the fan base. He’s one of those guys that truly isn’t affected by that and understands there are gonna be moments in time, that everyone- literally everyone- probably experiences at some point if you wear this uniform long enough, even if you’re great.”
Brian Cashman, the general manager of the Yankees, has already said that it was in the team’s interest to re-sign Aaron Judge. At this week’s GM Meetings in Las Vegas, Cashman conveyed that he was in talks with Page Odle, Judge’s agent.
Yes Network will show the full interview on Monday, November 14 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Do you think Steinbrenner is ready to pay $320 million to re-sign Aaron Judge?
