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Yankees: Is Aaron Judge pricing himself out of New York?

By Michael Cavallo

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 11: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees stands in the dugout before the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on April 11, 2022 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 11: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees stands in the dugout before the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on April 11, 2022 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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New York Yankees fans, are Aaron Judge’s days in pinstripes numbered? Currently, Judge is playing terrific baseball, but can he keep this up all year?

Right before the start of the season, the New York Yankees offered Judge $230 million over eight years, a solid contract that shows long-term security. If Judge would have accepted the offer that would have made him a Yankee till he was 38 years old.

The Yankees are on pace to finish 122-40 and Judge is on pace to hit 63 home runs.

Of course these are all projections, but if Aaron Judge can keep this pace up, can the New York Yankees give him the contract he is looking for?

Even though the Yankee outfielder is on fire during the early part of the season, can you invest in Judge knowing that he is injury prone?

Aaron Judge’s statistics through Thursday’s games

As of 05/18/22 — AB: 137 / R: 32 / H: 42 / RBI: 30 / BB: 17 / SO: 41 / AVG: 0.307 / OPS: 1.045 (Stats from MLB.com)

Aaron Judge’s injury history

  1. 2016: Grade 2 oblique strain
  2. 2017-2018: Shoulder surgery
  3. July 2018: Chip fracture in the wrist
  4. April 2019: Oblique strain
  5. Spring 2020: Collapsed lung and rib issue
  6. August 2020: Calf strain
  7. 2021: Lower body soreness

What is Aaron Judge looking for?

Honestly, I believe the Yankees offered Judge a fair contract extension. Will Judge receive a larger offer, or will he regret denying the Yanks contract extension? In the past, the Yankees would pay endless money to keep their star players, but now times have changed.

The Yankees have had to face the wrath of some terrible contracts. For example, the Yankees gave Alex Rodriguez 10 years for $275 million, and he faded away toward the end of his contract. It is difficult to give a player long-term security when he is over 30 years old. You just don’t know what will pan out in the later years. Especially for a player like Judge, injuries can cut your season short, and, in MLB, all the money is guaranteed.

Multiple MLB analysts believe Judge may end up being the highest-paid position player in baseball if he can stay healthy. When healthy, Judge can produce at an extremely high level, leaving many teams wanting to spend big money for him. Judge is reportedly looking for roughly $36 million a year for eight years, making it similar to Mike Trout’s contract with the Los Angeles Angels. Judge will now likely play the market and who knows what team will pay the highest.

Will the New York Mets steal Judge from the Yankees?

Judge loves playing in New York, so you know the Mets will make some noise for Judge. The Yankees’ neighbors, the Mets, are willing to spend all the money in the world to win a World Series. The Mets’ new owner, Steve Cohen, would do whatever it takes to bring a championship to Queens. I’m sure the Mets fans would love to stick to their archrivals. The Mets are the Yankees of old, buying all the big names on the free agent market. The Yankees’ All-Star already said he won’t negotiate his contract extension during the season, so once he hits free agency, I’m sure Cohen will pick up the phone. However, in the end, Judge has said he wants to stay with the pinstripes.

Next. Are Yankees and Willson Contreras on a collision course?. dark

Judge is the face of the Yankees. I can’t see him anywhere else, can you?

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