The New York Yankees won 99 games and made it to the American League Championship Series this year, yet there is a feeling their season wasn’t that good.
The expectations were just so high after a 64-28 first half, but since the calendar turned to August, everything collapsed.
It’s time to think about the 2023 season, and to do that, it’s important to point out that the Yankees’ two best hitters, Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo, are currently free agents.
The team is offering a one-year deal to them in the form of a qualifying offer.
“4 p.m. ET today is the deadline for MLB teams to present qualifying offers. The #Yankees are expected to issue them to Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo, valued at $19.65MM. 5 p.m. ET marks the beginning of unrestricted free agency,” Yankees insider Bryan Hoch tweeted on Thursday.
4 p.m. ET today is the deadline for MLB teams to present qualifying offers. The #Yankees are expected to issue them to Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo, valued at $19.65MM.
5 p.m. ET marks the beginning of unrestricted free agency.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) November 10, 2022
Judge Will Reject The QO And Rizzo Likely Will, Too
Judge will reject it without even looking at it, because he will make much more than $30 million per year with his next contract.
He hit .311 with 62 home runs and some great defense in both right and center field.
Rizzo may take it, but the smart money is on him rejecting the QO too because he is looking for a multi-year deal after hitting 32 home runs in 2022.
He just rejected a one-year, $16 million player option to look for a contract that is two or three years long, making him unlikely to accept the Yankees’ one-year, $19.65 million qualifying offer.
If they reject the QO and sign elsewhere, the Yanks would receive high draft picks in return.
Retaining both sluggers is the Yankees’ number one priority in the offseason at this point.
NEXT: Yankees Analyst Notes An Important Aaron Judge Fact