Assuming a full year of service time this year, the Yankees will have just two more years after 2020 – two more expensive arbitration years, to boot – with Aaron Judge before they have to make a decision: sign him long-term as the face of the franchise, or let him walk at age 30, with at least a few prime years left.
If you ask former New York Post and current ballnine.com writer Kevin Kernan, though, that decision should've been made even before Judge started to get expensive in arbitration this season.
"The future should've been locked up already, in my opinion. The Yankees have the money, and there's no downside to signing him long-term," Kernan said in an appearance on WFAN's Moose and Maggie Show Thursday. "I asked him last year if the team had approached him and he said no, but this is what the Yankees do, they don't go out on a limb and do this. I think it would be the greatest loss ever for the Yankees if he gets to free agency and goes somewhere else – maybe goes home to northern California to play for the Giants or the A's. My advice to the Yankees would be to get this kid signed ASAP, no matter what, or at least start talks to get that relationship going."
As Kernan alluded to, the Yankees have often shied away give out extensions to players of any experience level, and as Maggie Gray noted, they are diligent to be wary of Judge's injury history, especially given the amount of time both Luis Severino and Aaron Hicks missed (or would have) since signing their arbitration-ending extensions prior to last year.
Judge himself has missed large chunks of time in three of his four MLB seasons so far, and likely would have missed some had this season began on time due to a rib issue, but that's not something Kernan thought should factor into the team's thinking.
"I don't think it's a question of them wanting to see if he stays healthy, because a lot of his injuries have been freak injuries," Kernan said. "I have a good relationship with Aaron, and I told him this spring that he has to stop running into walls and making stupid dives. I know people want to see players hustle a thousand miles a minute, but this is what happened to Robinson Cano; when he pulled his hamstring and couldn't play in the All-Star Game, he stopped running hard to first base all the time, and from that point forward, there was a different Cano on the field."
That said, Kernan did think that Judge will learn "to play a little smarter," and even if he and Giancarlo Stanton – whom Maggie noted has an "almost unmovable contract" – have a lot of overlap, the two should remain together for a long time, via Judge being signed long-term.
"With everything he brings to that team, this is a guy that should've been signed a year ago no matter what," Kernan said. "You have to think the relationship is a little destructive right now, with the way they didn't figure out this latest injury and how it was handled, but the Yankees have to convince him to be with them moving forward, because I think he's too special a talent."
You can check out Kernan's entire segment below, and as always, you can check out more on-demand audio from Moose & Maggie, or tune in every day to the WFAN.com livestream of the show!
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