For the average fan, and maybe even the average person in baseball, Aaron Judge would have been wise to accept the Yankees’ offer of a $213.5 million seven-year extension. But the argument for the judge accepting the deal, on top of his remaining year of arbitration, is almost entirely a baseball argument. Judge almost certainly sees himself as more than just another top player, in part because the Yankees and Major League Baseball have marketed him as more than that.
Judge, who turns 30 on April 26, is perhaps the biggest sports star in the nation’s biggest market, a player who has proven he can handle the pressure of playing in New York, a larger-than-life figure on and next to the field. The difference between the seven-year term the Yankees offered and the eight-year extension he requested isn’t particularly significant, according to sources. But Judge wanted an average annual value in the range of the $36 million Mike Trout received in his overtime with the Los Angeles Angels, and the Yankees offered a $30.5 million AAV.
The Yankees’ proposal, which covers Judge’s age of 31-37, would have earned him the second-highest AAV among outfielders, behind only Trouts and just ahead of Mookie Betts at $30.4 million. However, the gulf between Judge and Betts would be greater than it might appear. The shifts in Betts’ contract bring the current value of his AAV down to $25.5 million, according to the Players Association.