Aaron Judge has been the best player on the best team in MLB: the New York Yankees are 58-23, and it has been in large part thanks to their star outfielder.
They recently settled on a $19 million salary for the player, after being on the verge of going to arbitration over a $4 million gap.
However, that’s for 2022: his long-term future is, still, uncertain.
Judge rejected a $213 million extension on Opening Day that would have paid him $30 million per year, opting to bet on himself with the hope of earning a larger payday as a free agent after the season.
So far, his decision is paying off.
Before Wednesday’s games, Judge is slashing .281/.360/.612 with 29 home runs, 64 runs scored, and 60 RBI.
He is currently in a bit of a slump, but his numbers speak volumes for his value.
The Yankees Still Want To Build Around Judge
When asked about Judge’s long-term future, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said he would still like to keep him and build around him.
“There’s no doubt we’re hopeful that’s the case,” Hal Steinbrenner said of keeping Aaron Judge w/the #Yankees long term,” Brendan Kuty of NJ.com tweeted.
"There's no doubt we're hopeful that's the case," Hal Steinbrenner said of keeping Aaron Judge w/ the #Yankees long term.
— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) July 6, 2022
In fact, Steinbrenner knows that the fan base wouldn’t tolerate seeing Judge go after seeing the team spend so little in the last offseason.
Granted, it has all worked out for the Yankees, but Judge is behind most of that success, and losing him would be a pill tough to swallow.
One would think that if the Yankees didn’t sign Carlos Correa, Javier Baez, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien or Trevor Story in the offseason, they did it with a potential Judge long-term contract in mind.
In the end, the Yankees should be favorites to keep him, but powerhouses like the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets will now enter the bidding.
That’s definitely not ideal.
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