First pitch came and went a little after 1 p.m., and so, too, did Aaron Judge’s self-imposed deadline: if he and the Yankees didn’t come to an agreement on a long-term contract extension, then talks would cease, Judge would play out this season and head into free agency this winter.
He said prior to the game that he was hopeful, but after first pitch came and went, and GM Brian Cashman spoke about it, and Judge went 2-for-5 with a run scored in the Yankees’ win, the star right fielder spoke about the disappointment he felt now that the lack of an extension was officially official.
“I don’t know if there’s a level, you’re just disappointed we weren’t able to come to an agreement,” Judge said. “But like I’ve said, it’s just an honor to even get a chance to be discussed in those kinds of talks and be in this position. We weren’t able to come to an agreement, but now it’s time for me to keep winning ballgames for the Yankees like we did today.”
Judge doesn’t even know how much he will make this season, as he and the Yankees will go to an arbitration hearing to decide whether he makes $17 million as the Yankees filed for, or the $21 million he requested.
But he knows that no matter the salary, he’s playing the next 161 after Friday, and hopefully more in October, in pinstripes, so he’s got nothing he needs to worry about until the offseason.
“I’m not afraid, because I know no matter what I’ll be here for the whole year playing for the Yankees,” Judge said. “There wasn’t any doubt in my mind I’d be playing baseball, so that allows me to put it out of mind and go out and do what I have to do. I never got distracted by it, I stay focused on the job I have to do on the field. We can move on to arbitration talks, lock in and finish that, and then I have a job to focus on.”
Cashman, in an unusual move, admitted that the Yankees offered Judge a seven-year, $213.5 million extension as their final offer – a deal that, pending Judge’s arbitration salary in 2022, would have been worth up to $234.5 million and kept him in pinstripes until his age-37 season.
Judge, a notably private person, wouldn’t comment on that statement of the state of the offer, only that his priority was getting a deal done.
“I don’t like talking numbers, I like to keep that private. I felt that was private between my team and the Yankees, but I won’t get into that,” he said. “Cash has a job to do, this is what he does. I’m a ballplayer, he does what he does, and I can’t control what happens there.”
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So, he remains disappointed, as now the entire Yankees fan base will spend the next seven or eight months wondering or worrying about Judge’s status in pinstripes.
“I’m just disappointed because I’ve been vocal about how I want to be a Yankee for life and bring a title to New York for the fans here,” Judge said. “This is home for me. Not getting that done now stinks, but I have a job to do on the field and I have to shift my focus to playing ball.”
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