Judge, Yankees Settle on 2022 Contract, Avoid Arbitration, per Report

Aaron Judge and the Yankees have finally agreed to a 2022 contract, per the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.

After months of trying to reach a deal to avoid arbitration, the Yankees and Judge reportedly agreed to a $19 million plus incentives, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports. The incentives include an additional $250,000 if Judge earns the league MVP and another $250,000 if he earns World Series MVP.

Originally, the Yankees and Judge were scheduled to an arbitration case on Friday, but the two parties avoided that by reaching an agreement. It was being discussed whether the three-time All-Star would make $17 million or $21 million this season. It appears they agreed on an amount right in the middle.

The decision also comes the morning after Judge helped the Yankees to a walk-off win vs. the Astros in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The right fielder is off to one of his strongest starts in his nearly seven-year MLB career thus far. He leads the league in most home runs so far this season with 27. Through 68 games, he has 79 hits, 58 runs and 53 RBIs. He’s hitting .304/.379/.658 on the year. 

The Yankees have the MLB’s best record at 52–18. They are the only team with over 50 wins so far.

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