New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge has faced questions about his free agency this week, though some would argue he has important matters to deal with right now.
Yankees commentator Michael Kay claims that Judge is seeking significantly more than his previous offer from the team itself.
New York offered a seven-year, $213.5 million deal before the start of the season. We know those details because Brian Cashman told us in a bizarre PR campaign aimed to — if anything — make the organization look better. It didn’t work.
With Judge on the verge of a record-breaking campaign in which he might break Roger Maris’ American League home run record, Kay reported some information on what his contract demands could be:
“If [the Yankees are] not going to give $100M more than their last offer, [Judge] won’t be here.”
This is only after ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Judge will certainly get $300 million this offseason.
Yankees: Aaron Judge has bigger things to worry about
Judge has a few records to chase — he’s in play for the AL Triple Crown, as well as Maris’ home run mark. Not to mention, the Yanks are in the middle of a pennant chase. After a brutal second half of the season, it was Judge who kept New York afloat when Tampa Bay was breathing down their neck. And it will be Judge who carries them on his back to the postseason.
The AL MVP candidate was pressed earlier this week about the potential of signing with the rival Boston Red Sox, and didn’t give much of an answer. However, he didn’t exactly turn down the request, either. Everything Judge does has meaning, including a non-answer.
It pushed Yankees fans to the edge. Yanks Go Yard thought the question was predictable, and all too familiar from Boston reporters:
“As Judge approaches Roger Maris’ American League home run record (and, some would say, the legitimate mark), there are possibly 10,000 questions you could ask him face-to-face that would be more interesting than, “Hey … how ’bout those Red Sox, huh?”
Even as the Yankees close in on a playoff spot, Judge’s free agency looms over them. The organization has no one to blame but itself, however, for not signing Judge to his desired deal before the start of the regular season.
This was always going to be the end game.