Anthony Rizzo: Aaron Judge Should Be MLB's Highest-Paid Player, Yankees' Captain
Anthony Rizzo didn’t want to dive into his future shortly after the Astros swept New York in the American League Championship Series, but the Yankees first baseman did share some thoughts on what lies ahead for Aaron Judge.
Judge is coming off an MVP caliber campaign that saw him reset the American League and Yankees’ single-season home run records with 62 longballs. Now he’s heading for free agency after turning down a seven-year, $213.5 million extension offer from the Yankees hours before Opening Day this year. That deal would have paid Judge an average of $30.5 million per year.
Rizzo believes the slugger should make much, much more.
"He bet on himself on the biggest stage, in the biggest market, and did it with ease,” Rizzo said of Judge. “He should be rewarded as the highest-paid player in the game. He's the new gold standard, in my opinion."
Rizzo referenced Judge’s historic home run count, but also the fact that he hit .311 with a .425 on-base percentage, stole 16 bases and played Gold Glove caliber defense. Judge finished the season with 131 RBI; he flirted with a Triple Crown.
"He's the total package," Rizzo said.
Rizzo also noted that Judge brings in a lot of money – not only for the Yankees, but for the sport as a whole. Rizzo said that Judge’s home run chase was profitable for all involved.
“There's plenty of money in this game to be spread around,” Rizzo said. “Whatever he gets is gonna be astronomical, and he deserves it."
The question now is who will pay Judge that astronomical sum. He’s sure to have plenty of interest in free agency, but only so many teams will be willing to compete in the market he’s set for himself.
Judge has stated that he wants to remain with the Yankees – the organization has said the same – but the offseason brings uncertainty. “People jump ship so much,” said Rizzo, who spent parts of 10 seasons with the Cubs before he was traded to the Yankees during the 2021 season.
“I’ve been clear about that since I first wore the pinstripes,” Judge said of sticking in the Bronx. “But we couldn’t get something done before spring training and now I'm a free agent, and we’ll see what happens.”
Should Judge return to the Yankees, Rizzo thinks he should be more than just baseball’s highest-paid player. Rizzo feels Judge should be the team’s captain, an opinion that Nestor Cortes also expressed recently.
"He's the leader of this team,” Rizzo explained. “Everyone fed off of him."
Rizzo, meanwhile, isn’t sure what his own winter holds. The 33-year-old has a $16 million player option after re-signing with the Yankees last offseason. After hitting 32 homers, Rizzo could reenter free agency in hopes of finding more security.
“At this point, I’ll sit down with my wife and sit down with my agents,” Rizzo said, “and we’ll talk about all that.”
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