All eyes are on Aaron Judge this offseason and with the GM Meetings under way on Tuesday, Brian Cashman was once again addressing the Yankees’ pursuit of their superstar slugger.
The GM (although technically not under contract) made it clear that things are still very early in the process — suggesting that it will ultimately be Judge who “dictates the dance steps.”
“Optimally, if you could wave a magic wand, we would secure Aaron Judge and retain him and have him signed as soon as possible,” Cashman told a pool of reporters. “But he’s a free agent. He’s earned the right to be a free agent. So he’ll dictate the dance steps.”
Where Judge and his camp currently are on those seems to be a bit of a mystery at the moment. When Cashman was asked directly about whether or not he touched base with Judge’s agents this week, he replied, “no comment.”
That could be read in a couple of different ways. Perhaps they have not yet spoken to Judge, which may set off alarms among Yankees fans. Or he has spoken to Judge, but plans to keep those details private. Cashman did add that it was "early."
Judge was reportedly not happy Cashman disclosed the details of his rejected contract extension prior to the season, so the less Cashman and the Yankees leak or reveal to the press, the more they may be able to regain Judge’s trust.
While details of where things stand are scarce, rumors continue to fly about Judge and the possibility of him leaving the Yankees.
“The one thing I do know is I think he really enjoyed his experience here,” Cashman said. “Those were his words. And I know we certainly enjoyed the experience of having him. We were proud of drafting him and being a part of his career thus far and hope to be a part of his career the rest of the way.
“So we have to have some serious conversations. And we will, and hopefully we can retain him. But I have no feel for how we sit compared to curiosities that he has elsewhere, if he has any. So again, we’ll have to stay tuned and find out. But we’ll certainly make it tough on him, and I’m sure he’ll make it tough on us. Because that’s the nature of the beast.”
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