"The Aaron Judge contract negotiations should have never gotten to this point" - Alex Rodriguez calls out New York Yankees, compares All-Star right fielder to Derek Jeter
Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees failed to reach an agreement on a possible contract extension before Opening Day 2022. The 29-year-old slugger is in the final year of his six-year contract with the Bronx Bombers.
Former Yankees star Alex Rodriguez discussed the matter with his co-host Michael Kay on Sunday Night Baseball's KayRod Cast on ESPN2.
The Aaron Judge contract negotiations should have never gotten to this point.
Catch more breakdowns like this on #KayRodCast tonight at 7pET on ESPN2 with a surprise guest! @RealMichaelKay @espn https://t.co/c97cSICC9J
"The Aaron Judge contract negotiations should have never gotten to this point" - Alex Rodriguez
A-Rod called out his former organization, the New York Yankees, for not sorting out these issues, at least early on. In the inforgraphic, he explained the leveraging power that an agent and a team have during the course of a player's career.
He gave examples such as Fernando Tatis Jr., who was signed by the San Diego Padres on a 14-year $340 million year contract after just his first season. This will give Tatis Jr. around $24.28 million a year. He also cited the contracts of Ronald Acuña Jr. who was extended for eight years on a $100 million contract—roughly $12.5 million a year. Finally, he included Ozzie Albies' $35 million contract for seven years after his contract was re-worked after just two years in the majors.
Judge was reportedly offered around $230 million for eight years which would pay around $28.75 million per year. Rodriguez then stated that according to people close to Judge, the young slugger wants a contract worth similar to Francisco Lindor or Anthony Rendon worth around $35 million a year.
Rodriguez questioned the Yankees' front office as to why no agreement had been reached, and it ultimately went down this path.
"You know that this is a guy that you want to build your franchise around," Rodriguez said. "He's the closest thing to Derek Jeter we've had. If you're the Yankees, you want to sign up a guy like Aaron Judge right here," he added.
With the Yankees' lofty expectations each year, it would be a mystery if they can reach an agreement with Judge, the face of the franchise.
Aaron Judge looks to make it big this year
It's a contract year and Aaron Judge looks set to impress this season. The slugger out of Linden, California is coming off a superb 2021 season. Judge batted .287/.373/.544 with 39 home runs and 98 RBIs in 148 games last season. It was his first relatively healthy campaign since 2017 wherein he won the AL Rookie of the Year Award.
Judge has produced comparable numbers to start 2022. In 37 plate appearances, he has a slash line of .281/.361/.469. His power and productivity, however, have been somewhat dormant. Judge has one RBI on just one solo home run.
Aaron Judge is "the captain of this team," say Joey Gallo and DJ LeMahieu. https://t.co/IG4xL32f0h
"Aaron Judge is "the captain of this team," say Joey Gallo and DJ LeMahieu." - @ YES Network
Judge was selected to the All-MLB First Team, All-Star team, won the Silver Slugger Award, and finished fourth in AL MVP voting during the last campaign. If Judge can replicate or even surpass these numbers and fails to reach an agreement with the Yankees for a contract extension, expect him to be the hottest commodity in the free agency market.