The New York Yankees and their star slugger, Aaron Judge, both are enjoying strong starts to the 2022 season, but there is no guarantee the relationship will survive beyond this year.
On Wednesday, general manager Brian Cashman talked about Judge’s contract situation by saying he wouldn’t be talking about it through the media.
“We’re not going to talk about it now going forward,” Cashman said before the Yankees hosted the Toronto Blue Jays. “Whether that means we’re not going to talk, I’m not saying that, but we’re not going to talk about it (publicly). But he’s been great. But that’s no surprise, because he is great.”
Judge, 30, turned down a reported $230.5 million deal to keep him under contract for eight seasons. He is hitting .290 with a .356 on-base percentage through 28 games entering Wednesday and was on top of the home run list in the majors with 10.
The Yankees defeated the Blue Jays 6-5 on Tuesday on Judge’s first career walk-off home run.
The sides could still agree on an extension this season, preventing Judge from entering free agency.
As his Opening Day deadline for an extension arrived, Judge expressed displeasure at the contract terms being made public, but Cashman downplayed that issue on Wednesday.
“I’m not aware of any of that,” Cashman said. “His camp knew all about it, so I assume he knew all about it. It certainly doesn’t feel like (he’s upset) when I’ve interacted with him since.”
Judge, who played in career game No. 600 on Tuesday, is in his seventh season — all with the Yankees. He had 168 home runs, 388 RBIs, 26 stolen bases and a career average of .277 entering Wednesday’s game.
A 2013 first-round pick of the Yankees out of Fresno State, Judge was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2017 and is a three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger award winner.
–Field Level Media