Brian Cashman: Yankees to Offer Aaron Judge Extension Before Opening Day
TAMPA — With less than two weeks to go until Opening Day, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman isn't concerned in the slightest about Aaron Judge's contract situation.
Judge and the Yankees failed to reach an agreement before last week's arbitration deadline, the latest wrinkle to the right fielder's uncertain Yankees future as he enters the final year of his current deal with New York.
The slugger has made it clear this spring that while he wants to stay with the Yankees for the rest of his career, he won't negotiate a contract extension with the club after Opening Day. He doesn't want his contractual situation to be a distraction.
Asked about Judge's developing situation off the field on Saturday, Cashman assured he and his team will be offering Judge an extension prior to the commencement of the regular season. Whether or not the offer provides a resolution remains to be seen.
"Between now and Opening Day, we've said we'll make an offer and he'll obviously receive an offer and all the conversations will be had, will have taken place and will either resolve into a multi-year deal or it won't," Cashman said at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
MLB insider Jon Heyman added Saturday afternoon that New York is expected to offer their "first big pitch" to Judge by the end of this weekend and while figures aren't known yet, it's expected to be among the biggest contracts handed out to an outfielder in baseball history.
If Judge and the Yankees don't agree to a long-term deal or a one-year pact, then both parties will be forced to go to court for an arbitration hearing. Cashman added that the worst-case scenario would be pushing his arbitration dilemma into the regular season.
Judge and the Yankees were $4 million apart in salary figures last week. The slugger reportedly asked for $21 million while his employers offered $17 million.
New York settled on one-year deals with the other 11 arbitration-eligible players, a list including Joey Gallo, Gleyber Torres, Jordan Montgomery and more.
"In one way or the other, we'll know where we stand when the dust settles on that," Cashman said. "Whether we're playing a year out together or whether we'll have an extension to discuss."
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