Aaron Judge steps into ‘extraordinarily competitive’ market, Levine vows to stop

The $230 million, seven-year offer by the Yankees is history after Aaron Judge‘s chase for a record haul of home runs. As he piles up one homer after another to become the run-away home-run leader in the Major League, his market value is on the upswing. The Yankees’ Randy Levin and Aaron Boone are sure to face heightened competition to keep the slugger after this season when he becomes a free agent. On Tuesday, Judge’s total number of home runs remained unchanged at 54. Considering his form, the outfielder would have hit another homer, had the game scheduled for Tuesday in The Bronx not been postponed due to rain. Roger Maris holds the single-season AL record with 61 home runs. But Judge is on his way to surpassing the 61-year-old milestone this season. And if there’s one thing that the course of this season has demonstrated, it’s how desperately the Yankees require Judge to be a part of their batting order. New York manager Aaron Boone considers Judge the best player in the league. While the California-born outfielder led them during most of the season through his power-packed performance, the recent Yankees’ slump failed to stop his bat from hitting home runs. Boone credits Aaron for helping his team hold the AL East lead despite a summer meltdown.

According to the manager, “Whether we’re at full strength and everyone’s going, that’s huge; and right now, we’re struggling a little and have guys down; but his level of consistency and production are the reason we’re in this position,”

After declining an extension offer from the Yankees that was for seven years and $213.5 million before Opening Day, Judge and his agents will undoubtedly take advantage of each home run that Judge hits when it comes to the discussions that will take place following the season. On the opposite side of the debate are team president Randy Levine and others who will attempt to negotiate a ‘reasonable’ price tag to keep the player. “We know his worth and what he means,” Levine told while speaking on the podcast “The Show.” He added, “I don’t know what’s in his mind and all we can do is show him how much we’d like him to remain a Yankee.” Levine did mention, however, that the organization is of the opinion that there are two sides to the problem and that the Yankees bring value to Judge as well.

“Like with all free agents, being a Yankee is really important,” Levine said continued, “It brings a lot that, maybe, a lot of other locations don’t. Now we’re talking about the home run chase with Babe Ruth and Roger Maris: two Yankees. So there’s no issue about, ‘Do we want Aaron Judge back?’ There’s no issue with ‘how much we value him.’ It’s a negotiation. What we’ll talk about with him and his representatives in the offseason is, ‘How do we keep him?’ And then it will be up to him to see, does he want to stay here or does he want to go someplace else? Is somebody offering him a better deal?”

After the World Series, the market for Judge, who has an incredible and maybe a record-breaking season in 2022, may witness many teams with big offers enticing away the player from The Bronx. Levine has already indicated that the Yankees will not let him go without competition and try to match every offer. “I think we’ll be extraordinarily competitive,’’ said Levine while hinting at how his franchise is going to deal with when others try to win over Judge.

“We think Aaron Judge is an all-time Yankee. We think he’s a great player, beyond a great player. We think he’s a great person. That’s why we offered him the highest position player contract in the history of the Yankees. I admire him that he went out and took this upon his shoulders and we’ll sit down with him and hopefully figure it out. I think there’s no question we want him back and no question we value him.”

Levine also mentioned that Hal Steinbrenner and his family would be the ones to write any prospective cheques to Judge, in addition to any other free agents, for the foreseeable future. This clearly says an agreement in the Yankees’ setup to make all possible attempts to keep the slugger in New York.

“I’ve talked to the Steinbrenners and to Hal and there’s no plans to sell,’’ Levine informed. “This is a family business. They intend to be in this forever and give back forever. I don’t think [selling] is something even worth talking about.”

Will Aaron Judge stay with the Yankees? Which team do you think could entice him away? What do you think his contract is worth next season?