New York Yankees' Aaron Judge prepares his bat during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Thursday, May 19, 2022, in Baltimore. AP
Aaron Judge will get paid. It’s just a matter of how much and by whom.
The New York Yankees right fielder rejected a seven-year, $213.5 million contract extension before Opening Day and is set to be a free agent following the season.
If that happens, expect several clubs to throw big money at Judge, who currently leads MLB with 14 home runs.
The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports “The Giants are seen as another potential landing spot for Aaron Judge, who grew up a Giants fan (he’s from Linden, Calif.). Though they specialize in bargains, they did make a spirited attempt for Bryce Harper, finishing second to Philadelphia.”
Two things to keep in mind about Heyman’s report. One, the Giants are a legitimate playoff contender in the National League. San Francisco is 22-15 this season, putting them in third place in the NL West, just three games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers (25-12).
Two, Judge is a West Coast native. He was born in Lindon, Calif., less than a two-hour drive from San Francisco.
Want to bet on MLB?
See the best NJ Sports Betting sites
But the Yankees aren’t expected to let Judge walk without putting up a fight. Earlier this week, Heyman reported the Yankees can do better than the $30.5 million per year they put on the table in April. Per WFAN:
“The Yankees are willing to go higher,” Heyman said on his new podcast “The Show” with Joel Sherman of the New York Post. “They were willing to go higher when they cut off negotiations. Time kind of ran out because they set Opening Day as the deadline … I think they would have gone to $31 million-$32 million.”
That echoes what NJ Advance Media’s Brendan Kuty reported Monday:
The Yankees were thinking more along the lines of $30.5-million a year, though a person with knowledge of the talks told NJ Advance Media that owner Hal Steinbrenner might have been able to be convinced to up it a million or two more per year. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.
- Future Yankees stud is team’s top power prospect in latest ranking
- Yankees promote former 1st-round draft pick as top catching prospect lands on injured list
- Ex-Yankees star Alex Rodriguez diversifies portfolio with another sports investment
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com.
Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.
Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 5/1/2021).
© 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.
Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.