Michael Kay predicts 40% possibility of Aaron Judge rejecting Yankees’ new contract

Saturday October 1, 2022

The 2022 MLB season is dominated by Aaron Judge. First, all are talking about his record home run chase. Secondly, there is wide speculation over his next contract, as the player becomes a free agent in the offseason. Long-time Yankees voice Michael Kay sees a 40% chance of slugger Aaron Judge leaving New York for a new team.

The Michael Kay Show on Twitter predicts that there is only a 60% possibility that the Yankees will be able to resign Aaron Judge and field him in the majors next season.

"I give him a 60% chance of signing with the #Yankees again . . . if it gets to ten years I don't think the Yankees will go there" – @RealMichaelKay on Judge's contract
— The Michael Kay Show (@TMKSESPN) September 30, 2022

Aaron Judge will turn 31 years old next year. Michael Kay doesn’t think the Yankees will want to pay Judge max money until he’s 41 years old. But many teams will be willing to go for 10 years after Judge’s amazing 2022 performance. The big hitter has 61 home runs this season. It puts them at par with Roger Maris for the American League record of homers in one season.

After the historic home run, Aaron Judge, in his usual humble way, talked about how it felt to tie Roger Maris.

“It’s an incredible honor, you know, [to be] associated with one of the Yankees greats, you know one of baseball greats, be enshrined with him forever… words can’t describe it.”

When MLB free agency comes around, Yankees fans would hate to see “The Judge” leave. But, as Michael Kay said, the slugger could go somewhere else in the offseason. Aaron Judge’s future will be the subject of a lot of rumors and news stories during the offseason. But Michael Kay knows the Yankees well and can be trusted as a source.

The Giants are a potential suitor while the Mets are also likely to jump into the market. A poll of analysts by ESPN discovered that many of them seeing a possibility of Judge leaving the Yankees. The slugger rejected a seven-year deal totaling $213 million before this season and reportedly sought $36 million a year. His new contract size could be between $35 million and $0 million a year and of a duration of 7 to 10 years. The player may insist an opt-out clause too.

Aaron Judge’s main goal right now is to get the Yankees to the World Series. But he knows that when he becomes a free agent, he will make a lot of money.

Will Aaron Judge stay with the Yankees or leave as Michael Kay predicts?