On the eve of opening day, the Yankees, and Aaron Judge couldn’t come to an agreement on a contract extension that would keep Judge in pinstripes for the foreseeable future. Judge, who is due to be a free agent after this season is expecting to get quite the payday. The Yankees and Brian Cashman were working hard to lock up the slugging right fielder before opening day’s contract extension deadline but could not get a deal agreed upon by both parties involved. Judge, who will be 30 years old this upcoming offseason has already had a decorated career in the Bronx which includes the 2017 Rookie of the Year campaign in which he hit a league leading 52 homeruns, a two-time Silver Slugger winner, and a three-time All-Star.
The contract extension that Judge turned down from the Yankees was supposedly worth 8-years for $230.5 million dollars. That contract would give Judge an AAV (Average Annual Value) of $30.5 million dollars per year. The Yankees who are historically able to retain the players that they want have surprisingly struggled to lock up the face of their franchise. You may ask, the Yankees have the money, why don’t they just give him whatever he wants?
Throughout Aaron Judge’s time with the Bronx Bombers there have been injury concerns as he has missed 28.4% of games throughout his career which is alarming if you’re thinking about opening the wallet for a huge contract. Obviously, if you are going to spend a lot of money on a player, you expect him to be on the field and be producing at a high level. Although he can be injury prone, when Judge is on the field, he is one of the best players that this sport has to offer. Since 2017, Judge is tied for third with Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Guardians for the highest WAR (Wins Above Replacement) behind only Mookie Betts and Mike Trout during that time span.
Furthermore, Judge is the only one of those players mentioned before that has not received a contract extension. Mookie Betts agreed to a contract extension from the Los Angeles Dodgers right before the beginning of the 2020 season worth $365 million dollars over 12 years giving him an AAV of $30.4M. In March of 2019 the Los Angeles Angels inked Mike Trout to a 12-year, $426.6 million dollar deal which gives him an AAV of $35.5M. Jose Ramirez most recently agreed to a 5-year, $124 million dollar extension with the Cleveland Guardians which gives him a AAV of 24.8M.
So, did the Yankees offer Aaron Judge a fair deal? I think so, Spotrac.com, a respected sports website, gives Aaron Judge a calculated market value of $26.5 million dollars per year. This shows that with all things calculated, the Yankees offered Judge $4 million dollars more per year than what the computer thinks he deserves. However, Judge seems to be betting on himself after declining the contract extension and opting to prove to the league that he is worth more than what the Yankees offered him. Although the Yankees will still have another opportunity to extend Judge after the conclusion of the 2022 season, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.
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