Aaron Judge is a New York Yankee. The American League home run king is returning to New York, according to multiple reports. The Yankees are reportedly also "very likely" to name Judge captain once the signing becomes official.
Judge turned down an offer from the Yankees before the season and it paid off big time for the slugger. He hit .311 with 62 home runs, 131 runs batted in, and a 1.111 OPS en route to his first career AL MVP Award.
Now, Judge will be getting paid nearly $150 million more than the initial $213 million contract offer from the Yankees.
Sweeny Murti and Keith McPherson of the Audacy Original Podcast "BXB" talked about Judge returning to New York after the best bet-on-yourself season of all time.
“Locking a player up early is when the team gets a discount and that’s only if the player wants to give it to you,” Murti said (5:46 in player above). “Guys who are of the star caliber of Aaron Judge usually – usually – don’t go that early.”
“Judge’s career was a little iffy on where the numbers were going to go because of his injury history. So the Yankees came in at a number before the season that factored in some of that and Judge was saying I’m not that player anymore, let’s wait another year and see where this goes. Well, Keith, this is where it went.”
“Greatest bet-on-yourself year of all time,” McPherson said. “I’m like if this guy’s turning down $213 million we’re going to have a hell of a year. Did I know it was going to be a record-setting year and turn into $360 million? Nobody knew.”
Murti did mention that there are instances in which a star player signs early, particularly with Mike Trout and Francisco Lindor, but the player has to want that.
Judge had the power before the season and although he ended up having a historic year, it could have gone the other way.
“If he ends up getting hurt and ends up being more in line with the type of player we saw in 2018 and 2019 that missed significant time, you’re talking about a player who’s not worth $30 million a year, let alone $40,” Murti said. “So he took that bet, he stayed healthy, and what happened the last two years is pretty significant because he was the player who was having trouble with different – some were more freak injuries like hit by pitch, others were muscular injuries.”
Judge didn’t have especially bad years in 2018 and 2019, but he missed 50 games and 60 games respectively. Still, he hit .276 with 54 home runs and 122 RBI in those 214 games. Those numbers pale in comparison to his 62 home runs in 157 games in 2022.
“He basically made – and I know we’re just doing the basic subtraction of 360 minus 213 – but you figure, Keith, if he had hit say 35 to 40 home runs like he did the year before, he’s not getting $40 million a year and when they made the $213 offer he was not on the open market yet. So just going on the open market increases that,” Murti continued.
“He probably made, just rough estimate here, the 2022 season made him $100 million. If you think open market off a good 30 to 40 home run season, maybe you need to go up to $260 to sign him, $270, $280, something like that. $360 comes when you hit 62 home runs in your walk year. That’s what happened. He made himself probably an extra $100 million off of one season. Good for him.”
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