Aaron Judge will be playing baseball in a few hours. Indeed, around 1 p.m., the Yankees and the Red Sox will cross swords.
For the occasion, the Judge will play on the right and will be the Yankees’ second batter. But is this the last opening day when this will be the case?
Yankees fans hope not. In New York, the goal is to extend his contract before the start of the season which, as I said, is imminent.
And with that, the Yankees offered the outfielder a proposal to make him the highest-paid position player annually in franchise history.
The biggest amount per year belongs to Gerrit Cole ($36 million per year), but the Yankees won’t go there. Nor will they go beyond Mike Trout’s $35.54 million a year.
But they will go beyond Alex Rodriguez’s $27.5 million over time. This could result in Judge fetching at least $200M.
Will Judge, who now has Brett Gardner’s locker in the locker room, want at least $30 million? Most likely. It’s unclear how much the Yankees are willing to put years on the table, which is a game changer.
It should also be remembered that the Judge does not have a contract for 2022. He is asking for $21 million per year in arbitration and the Yankees are offering $17 million.
Due to the lockout, the session will take place during the season. If Judge doesn’t have a long-term contract by then, it could sever ties with the organization, we agree.
That could hurt his chances of signing in New York next winter — because no, Judge doesn’t want to trade during the season.
Among his selling points, Aaron Judge must claim to be a star who grew up with the Yankees in the minors. Will this weigh in the balance?
*Update: The outfielder and the Yankees aren’t on the way to a deal.
