Judge turns down 7-year, $213.5M extension from Yankees
The New York Yankees were unable to finalize an extension with Aaron Judge before the outfielder's Opening Day deadline, general manager Brian Cashman announced Friday.
"We're all disappointed right now that we can't be talking about a contract extension today, but that doesn't preclude us from talking about it, hopefully, in the future," Cashman said, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.
"I still believe Aaron Judge wants to be here," Cashman added.
He said Judge turned down a seven-year, $213.5-million extension that would've begun in 2023, according to The New York Times' Tyler Kepner.
Judge would've received $30.5 million per season, making him the second-highest-paid outfielder in baseball in annual average salary behind Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels.
Brian Cashman said he announced the contract offer to Aaron Judge because this is New York, the numbers would have gotten out regardless, and he would have spent the day fielding “please confirm” text messages from reporters.
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) April 8, 2022
Judge is seeking at least a nine-year deal worth more than $30.5 million annually, a source told NJ.com's Brendan Kuty.
The Yankees and Judge had been discussing a contract extension since the three-time All-Star set an Opening Day deadline to get a new deal done. He's set to become a free agent at season's end.
Cashman said the two sides will try to reach an agreement after the season, according to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe. They'll now try to work out the slugger's 2022 salary before heading to an arbitration hearing.
Brian Cashman on next steps with Aaron Judge: “We don’t wind up in a hearing unless we are pushed into a hearing.”
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) April 8, 2022
Yankees filed at $17m, Judge filed at $21m. Cashman didn’t say what day hearing would be — they can work out new deal up until then — my understanding is in June.
Judge has been one of the top players in the majors since debuting in 2016. During that time, he's amassed a .276/.386/.554 slash line with 158 home runs and 366 RBIs in 572 games.
He was also named 2017 AL Rookie of the Year, won a Home Run Derby, and finished top five in AL MVP voting on two occasions.