The New York Yankees have offered their biggest star a long-term contract extension. The Yankees offered Judge a multiyear deal with a total guarantee in excess of $200 million, according to MLB Network.
The contract would make him the highest paid annual position player in team history. According to the NY Post, the Yankees offered more than $27.5 million, which would leave Judge’s AAV behind Angels‘ Mike Trout and Dodgers‘ Mookie Betts for the largest ever among outfielders.
Prior to Friday’s Opening Day for the Yankees, Judge told reporters that he doesn’t have an update on extension negotiations but said today remains his deadline for a deal because he doesn’t want to negotiate during the season.
Soon after reporting to spring training, Judge indicated he would not negotiate a contract after Opening Day. “I’m gonna stick with that deadline. I think it’s best for both parties, so they can focus on what they need to do and I can focus on what I need to do, which is on the field. If we’re not close by then, what’s the point of communicating in the season?” he told the New York Post‘s Dan Martin recently.
“We’ll have an update for you guys,” Judge told reporters pre-game. “I’ve got a game to focus on right now. So if it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, I’ll see you guys after the game and we’ll talk about that.”
If Judge agrees to this deal, the Yankees would have five players signed through at least 2025: Judge, Gerrit Cole, Aaron Hicks, DJ LeMahieu, and Giancarlo Stanton. Others like Josh Donaldson, Joey Gallo, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Jordan Montgomery, Anthony Rizzo, Luis Severino, and Jameson Taillon can become free agents either this coming offseason or next. New York has some roster turnover coming.
Judge, 30 later this month, authored a .287/.382/.544 batting line with 39 home runs en route to a fourth place finish in the AL MVP voting in 2021. When he’s on the field, Judge has always performed at an elite level, though staying on the field has been an issue at times. Injuries limited him to 242 of 384 possible regular season games from 2018-20, or 63 percent.
The Yankees were unable to agree to a 2022 contract with Judge prior to the arbitration salary filing deadline last month. He sought a $21 million salary while the team filed at $17 million. The new extension would eliminate the need for an arbitration hearing.
Last season the Yankees went 92-70 and lost the AL Wild Card Game to the rival Red Sox. They have been to the postseason each of the last five years, but have not advanced beyond the ALCS.
