TAMPA, Fla. — Aaron Judge was disappointed, but not surprised that he could not come to an agreement on a deal to avoid arbitration on Tuesday. The Yankees slugger is still hopeful that something — a one-year deal or a contract extension — can be worked out in the next 14 days, before his deadline of opening day.
“I think both sides want to avoid getting to that situation and having to go in that room and kind of fight each other a little bit and bring out the boxing gloves,” Judge said, “but I’m prepared for it.”
Judge, who made $10.17 million last year, filed for $21 million. The Yankees countered at $17 million. The slugger, who will turn 30 next month, said that began some conversations between the Yankees and his agent Page Odle.
Arbitration, where the team argues that a player is worth less than he believes, can get ugly and the last time a Yankee ended up there it did. Dellin Betances was vocally unhappy when the Yankees belittled his contributions and it became a big story. Judge was in the spring training clubhouse, a friend of Betances’ and knows how this can change a relationship between player and team.
“I’m optimistic, but it’s a short window, you know what I am saying,” Judge said Wednesday afternoon before the Yankees’ spring training game against the Orioles at George M. Steinbrenner Field. “We’ll see what happens. … I kind of want to get this arbitration stuff over with and see if we can settle on something there.
“But if not, you know, head to the courts and see what happens.”
Managing partner Hal Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman have said publicly they would like Judge to remain a Yankee and that they expect those talks to begin soon.
“I think both sides do want to come to an agreement so I think we’re both not really too happy not being able to settle on something and kind of work through it,” Judge said. “I think we’ve still got time. We both filed numbers but that doesn’t mean that the communication stops. Hopefully we can continue to communicate and kind of find a number that works for both of us.”
The 29-year-old is coming off one of his most complete years in the big leagues.
The three-time All-Star slashed .287/.373/.544 with a .916 OPS, 39 homers and 93 RBIs in 148 games in 2021 According to Baseball Savant, Judge was among the league leaders in average exit velocity (95.8 miles per hour), max exit velo (119) and hard-hit percentage (58.4%). He led the Yankees in WAR (5.4).
Overall, his six years in the big leagues have been exceptional, averaging 276/.386/.553 and a .940 OPS. He was the 2017 Rookie of the Year, runner up to Jose Altuve in that same season and a Home Run Derby champion.
One major league executive suggested a five-year, $185 year deal would be a good one for Judge. He used comps from Alex Bregman and George Springer for a contract guideline. Bregman signed a five-year $100 million extension with the Astros in his age-25 season. Springer signed a six-year, $150 million deal with the Blue Jays after the 2020 season, when he was 31.
“We’re gonna have to engage in order to get a contract. When that happens, we’re not going to say or predict, but we’re on the clock obviously between now and his free agency. And if nothing gets done prior to free agency obviously it doesn’t mean we don’t want him, he can come back as a free agent too,” Cashman said last week. “So we’re the only team that can talk to him now. At some point those conversations will happen or will happen and we’ll try to keep it as private as we can. But like anything else, just like trades and free agents, you just got to be on the same page and find common ground.
“We’re happy he’s a Yankee and it’ll be great if we can make it longer than this year.”
Judge said that while the arbitration deadline forced some communications there haven’t been numbers exchanged on an extension.
“When we talked yesterday, a little bit on the phone that we were able to, you know, they brought out that idea of maybe, talking about an extension here soon, but I’m focused on doing my work here,” Judge said. “Let’s get this arbitration stuff done and then we can kind of move on to an extension.”
Judge said at the beginning of spring training that he will not be discussing his contract going into the season, creating an April 7 deadline for extension talks. He said that if it isn’t done by then they will have to wait until the 2022 season is over to re-engage in negotiations.
The thought of being a free agent and testing what his worth would be on the open market, really doesn’t hold any special place for him. He doesn’t care if that takes away from of his leverage in this.
“If it comes to it, maybe, but like I said before, I want to play here,” Judge said. “I want to finish my career here. There’s no better place to play. So I’m hoping we don’t get to that but if we do, I think I’ll be ready for it.”
