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As Aaron Judge’s historic home run total goes up by the day, Yankees president Randy Levine publicly commented on the star outfielder’s impending free agency, calling Judge an “all-time Yankee” while expressing a desire to retain Judge beyond the 2022 season.
“We know his worth and what he means," Levine said on "The Show" podcast with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman of the New York Post. “I don’t know what’s in his mind. All we can do is show him how much we’d like him to remain a Yankee.”
New York offered Judge an eight-year contract worth $233 million prior to the start of this season, which Judge declined. The gamble on himself is set to pay off in a massive way this winter, with Judge turning in one of the greatest seasons for a hitter in league history.
Judge went yard in the first game of a doubleheader against the Twins on Wednesday, bringing his MLB-leading total to 55. He also leads the majors in runs, RBI, total bases and OPS, and is on pace to hit 65 home runs for the year.
With his asking price set to climb even higher, Levine stressed that the team very much wants him to return, and is hopeful the two sides can reach an agreement.
“There’s no issue about, ‘Do we want Aaron Judge back?’” Levine said. “There’s no issue [with] ‘how much we value him.’ It’s a negotiation. What we’ll talk about with him and his representatives in the offseason is, ‘How do we keep him?’ And then it will be up to him to see, does he want to stay here [or] does he want to go someplace else? Is somebody offering him a better deal?”
