New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge considering entering free agency
The general manager of the New York Yankees, Brain Cashman, talked about Judge turning down a seven-year contract extension prior to Opening Day.
Aaron Judge has been playing at such a high level that if the 2022 MLB season ended today, he could easily win the Most Valuable Player award. On Tuesday night he made a walk-off homerun to give the Yankees the win over the Blue Jays.
Prior to Opening Day for the New York-based team, Judge rejected a seven-year contract extension worth $213.5 million and the general manager of the team, Brian Cashman, spoke about the future of the ace. “He’s been great,” said Cashman on Wednesday. “The walk-off homer is not a surprise because he is great.”
Judge is considering free agency
The Yankees offered Judge $17 million for the 2022 season, but the outfielder’s camp asked for $21 million. So if both sides don’t reach an agreement then Judge could become a free agent before the end of the season for the first time in his career. The outfielder made it clear to the Yankees that he didn’t want to be in talks over a long-term deal during the season and that is why he set an Opening Day deadline.
“We’re not going to talk about [any negotiations] going forward. I’m not saying [we’re not going to talk], but we’re not gonna talk about it [publicly],” said Cashman on Wednesday. The GM of the Yankees said he was unaware that his star outfielder was upset about the contract figures being publicly disclosed to the media.