The New York Yankees were unable to extend the contract of their young slugger Aaron Judge.
Judge was one of a few players who didn’t reach deals with their teams in time to avoid arbitration.
The offer the Yankees gave Judge on Friday was for seven years and worth $213.5 million.
Judge of course declined.
He had previously set Opening Day as the deadline for the two sides to come to an agreement.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman had announced the contract offer to the media, leaving many fans questioning his choice.
Cashman later confirmed why he announced the deal to the public, saying he wanted to avoid further questions from the media.
Brian Cashman said he announced the contract offer to Aaron Judge because this is New York, the numbers would have gotten out regardless, and he would have spent the day fielding “please confirm” text messages from reporters.
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) April 8, 2022
A Questionable Move
This isn’t a great play for Cashman if he’s trying to keep Judge around.
He has been general manager of the Yankees for a long time and should be used to the pressure of dealing with the New York media, first of all.
Secondly, he almost seems to be trying to get the fans to turn on Judge.
He held a press conference two hours before game time as if to point the finger and make him look like a villain if he didn’t accept the Yankees’ offer.
While it is surprising that Judge would turn that down, it isn’t a bad thing that he wants more and feels he deserves it.
This was not a wise move on Cashman’s part, nor does it give him a leg up in trying to keep Judge in New York for the rest of his career.
We’ll see how Judge reacts to it at the end of today’s game when he chats with the media.
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