The Yankees were willing to give Aaron Judge over $30 million annually starting in 2023, general manager Brian Cashman told reporters Friday after extension talks broke down.
Cashman said the Yankees offered Judge a seven-year deal paying $30.5 million annually after he plays out 2022 (the team filed for a $17 million salary in arbitration; he filed for $21 million). But Judge and his camp did not agree to that figure before their Opening Day deadline. In effect it was going to be an eight-year deal worth at least $230.5 million.
That would have beaten the $27.5 million annual salary Alex Rodriguez received and made Judge the highest-paid position player in franchise history.
There will be no further talks until the offseason, Cashman said. Judge is now scheduled to be a free agent after this season.
“We’re all disappointed right now that we can’t be talking about a contract extension today,” Cashman said, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, “but that doesn’t preclude us from talking about it hopefully in the future.”
