Update: There seems to have been a last-minute change of opinion. According to MLB insider John Heyman, the referee unexpectedly accepted the Yankees’ settlement offer.
It is currently unclear what the final figure is. It is reported that the judge wanted to receive about $ 21 million for the 2022 season.
In the midst of his best-ever season in the Stripes, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is betting on himself again.
The judge rejected the Yankees’ offer of $19 million in compensation. That figure was the midpoint between the Yankees’ initial $17 million offer and the judge’s $21 million request.
Now, instead of paying his salary for 2022, the judge will take part in an arbitration hearing on Friday afternoon.
“On the eve of this season, Judge rejected the Yankees’ offer of a $213.5 million contract, choosing instead to leave open the possibility that he could become a free agent this fall,” MLB insider Buster Olney said via ESPN.com . “Now, in the midst of the best season of his career and with the arbitration proceedings approaching, the judge is taking a similar approach to his salary in 2022. According to sources, the Yankees offered to negotiate an average amount of $19 million. But the referee refused and instead seeks victory in arbitration, which, according to officials in both the management and the union, will change the financial landscape of the players in the near future.”
The Yankees are playing hardball here, and it could cost them dearly.
Judge will become a free agent at the end of the 2022 season. If the Yankees can’t fix it, he can leave the Big Apple.
The Yankees better fix it.
Umpire is probably the best player in baseball right now, but the legendary New York franchise definitely doesn’t treat him that way.
