Aaron Judge is arguably the best player on the New York Yankees‘ roster.
He is the star of the show: he may not be the most vocal player out there, but he leads by example and is a difference-maker with the bat and on the field, too.
Unfortunately for all parties involved, there hasn’t been an agreement on a contract extension that keeps Judge in the Bronx for a long time.
The player has said in the past that he would be interested in signing an extension, but he obviously won’t give away any money to do so.
It’s his right: he earned every penny he asks for by being a star player and a great teammate.
In fact, we have seen what he can do over a full season when he is healthy: in 2017, his debut year, he hit .284/.422/.627 with 52 home runs.
He has been somewhat hit by injuries in subsequent seasons, but he has always been an elite performer when he is on the field.
Last season, he hit .287/.373/.544 with 39 dingers and 98 RBI.
He Deserves An Extension
It’s clear he is more than deserving of an extension, and it’s impossible not to think about him as a future captain of the Yankees.
But his latest comments left the door open on a future Yankees exit.
“If we get an extension done before the season starts that’d be great… If it doesn’t happen and this is my last year, I had a lot of great memories,” he said, according to Talkin’ Yanks on Twitter.
"If we get an extension done before the season starts that'd be great… If it doesn't happen and this is my last year, I had a lot of great memories." -Aaron Judge pic.twitter.com/l2hHM9H0Wm
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) February 17, 2022
He clearly wants any extension talks to be held before the season starts, so he doesn’t have any distractions.
He is entering his last year of salary arbitration, and is projected to make $17.1 million in 2022.
After that, he will enter free agency.
Will the Yankees let him walk?
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