Yankees planning 'extraordinarily competitive' offer for Aaron Judge
Star outfielder Aaron Judge's looming free agency is a hot-button matter for the New York Yankees.
Judge, 30 and a free agent after this season, turned down a seven-year, $213.5 million contract from the Yankees on opening day. The two sides have yet to find common ground while Judge is in the midst of an historic, MVP-caliber season.
The All-Star slugger has tallied an MLB-best 55 home runs and 118 RBIs while owning a .301/.407/.683 batting line and 205 OPS+. He has also split substantial time between center and right field. This all presumably spikes Judge's offseason asking price.
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Ben Verlander dives into the MVP-type season that Aaron Judge has put together as he tries to break the franchise record for home runs.
In an appearance on "The Show" podcast, Yankees president Randy Levine said that the franchise loves Judge and there's value in him sticking with the high-profile franchise.
"We love Aaron Judge," Levine said. "We think Aaron Judge is an all-time Yankee. We think he's a great player, beyond a great player. We think he's a great person. That's why we offered him the highest position-player contract [based on average annual salary] in the history of the Yankees. I admire him that he went out and took this upon his shoulders, and we'll sit down with him and hopefully figure it out. I think that there's no question we want him back.
"There's no question we value him, and at the end of the day he is a Yankee and, like with all free agents, being a Yankee is really, really important. It brings a lot that maybe other locations don't. Now we're talking about the home-run chase with Babe Ruth and Roger Maris."
Giancarlo Stanton (13 years, $325 million), Gerrit Cole (nine years, $324 million) and Alex Rodriguez (10 years, $275 million) stand as the largest contracts in team history, though Stanton signed his extension with the Miami Marlins before New York acquired him in 2017.
The Yankees are 83-54, good for first in the AL East and second in the AL as a whole. Across six full MLB seasons (2017-22), Judge is averaging 34.8 home runs and 79 RBIs per season – there were only 60 games in 2020 – and a .284/.394/.587 batting line.
Levine emphasized that the entire situation between Judge and the Yankees is a "negotiation."
"There's no issue about, 'Do we want Aaron Judge back?" Levine said. "There's no issue [with] 'how much we value him.' It's a negotiation. What we'll talk about with him and his representatives in the offseason is, 'How do we keep him?' And then it will be up to him to see, does he want to stay here [or] does he want to go someplace else? Is somebody offering him a better deal? I think we'll be extraordinarily competitive."
Concerning the market for top-tier outfielders, Mike Trout (12-year, $426.5 million deal), Mookie Betts (12-year, $365 million deal) and Bryce Harper (13-year, $330 million deal) have signed contracts in excess of $300 million over the last four years.
Levine reiterated that the Yankees value Judge.
"We know his worth.," Levine said. "We know what he's all about, but it takes two to tango."