NEW YORK — Before the deadline expires on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the Yankees made qualifying offers to free agents Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo. While Judge becomes a free agent after his one-year contract with the Yankees expired after the ALCS, Rizzo opted out of his 2023 player option a few days ago.
Each of the qualifying offers made by the Yankees carries a monetary value of $19.65 million and is for a period of one year. The players have until Tuesday at 4 p.m. Eastern Time to decide whether or not to accept the offer.
The general manager of the Yankees, Brian Cashman, has already stated that the team is enthusiastic about the possibility of re-signing both Judge and Rizzo.
If the Yankees had their way, they’d give Aaron Judge a new contract right away, but Cashman doesn’t know when that might happen.
“The one thing I do know is I think he really enjoys the experience here. Those are his words. I know we certainly enjoyed the experience of having him and we’re proud of his career thus far and we hope to be a part of his career the rest of the way. We have to have some serious conversations, and we will. Hopefully, we can retain him. I have no feel how we sit compared to curiosities he has elsewhere and if he has any. We’ll have to stay tuned to find out. We’ll certainly make it tough on him, and I’m sure he’ll make it tough on us. That’s the nature of the beast. Hopefully there’s going to be some opportunities that pop up, including retaining our superstar.”
Cashman has also made it clear that he wanted to re-sign Anthony Rizzo, who turned down his $16 million player option for 2023. They could look into other first-base options on the market but re-signing Rizzo would remain the top priority at the position.
The Yankees will now be entitled to compensation in the form of draft picks if either player signs with another team.
As the winner of the Hank Aaron Award in the American League and the presumed Most Valuable Player of the American League, Aaron Judge is now a free agent and the club’s top priority for the winter.
After declining a seven-year extension worth $213.5 million before Opening Day, Judge went on to break the American League single-season record for home runs with 62 while falling just five batting average points short of winning the Triple Crown.
Cashman revealed that the Yankees have been in communication with Page Odle, Judge’s agent, but he did not disclose whether or not a new offer has been made to the player.
This past spring, Rizzo signed a contract with the Yankees that was worth $32 million over two years and included an opt-out clause for the year 2023. Rizzo exercised that option on Monday, and after matching his career high with 32 home runs, he could be looking for another multi-year contract in the near future.
The right-handed pitcher Jameson Taillon was on the Yankees’ radar for a qualifying offer, but the team ultimately decided against making one. During the regular season, Taillon started 32 games and had a record of 14-5 with a 3.91 earned run average.
Will Judge and Rizzo return with the Yankees next season?
