Aaron Judge shows uncertainty in future with New York Yankees
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge was a guest of the R2C2 podcast with YES Network broadcaster and Judge’s former Yankees teammate, C.C. Sabathia. Judge joined them for the majority of the nearly two-hour podcast and divulged his thoughts on many things, including the MLB lockout and his future with the team.
Judge said that he would love to stay with the Yankees but if it doesn’t happen, he is at peace with it.
Aaron Judge has “had a lot of great memories” with the New York Yankees
New York Yankees star outfielder Aaron Judge (at around the 45-minute mark) was asked about his future with the team.
Judge, who is entering his final season before he becomes a free agent, said that “it would be great” if an extension gets done before the start of this season but “if it doesn’t happen,” he has “had a lot of good memories” with the Yankees, since he was drafted by them in the 2013 Draft.
“You know, leading into this, especially coming up through the minor leagues and rookie ball, you want to be a free agent, test the market a little bit and see what’s out there,” said Judge.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play in the best organization out of all of them so who wants to go anywhere else. Whatever happens, if we get an extension done, at some point, before the season starts that’d be great and I’d be completely honored to wear the pinstripes for a couple more years but, you know, if it doesn’t happen and this is my last year, I had a lot of great memories … It’s going to work out the way it’s supposed to.”
Judge is coming off his healthiest and best season since his 2017 season, when he won the AL Rookie of the Year and came in second in AL MVP voting. 2021 was the first season since 2017 that he played in more than 112 games (he played in 148) and he hit .287/.373/.544 with 39 homers, 98 RBI, a 149 OPS+, and a 6.0 rWAR. He was an All-Star, won a Silver Slugger Award, and came in 4th in AL MVP voting.
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If Judge does hit the open market, he will be entering his age 31 so he could easily get a five-year deal for $35 million per season, if not more. If the Yankees don’t lock him up on an extension, there will be plenty of teams interested in signing one of the best players in the game next offseason.