Aaron Judge contract: Yankees wouldn’t give him Mike Trout money

New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge wants to get paid like Mike Trout and the team isn’t ready to go there.

The Aaron Judge contract situation drags on. The New York Yankees had until Opening Day to lock up their star outfielder before Judge was willing to begin the season without a new deal for 2022. The two sides couldn’t come to terms and will try to figure things out later on, if at all.

Judge is the face of the Yankees franchise and easily one of the most recognizable players in Major League Baseball. In fact, he has been far more marketable than superstar outfielder Mike Trout who has been incredibly understated in his career compared to what he can do on the field.

There has been a lot thrown out about what the Yankees offered and what Judge was looking to get. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic offered some numbers he had heard, making it look like Judge was hoping to get Trout money and his employer wasn’t willing to go there.

Aaron Judge wants Mike Trout money and the Yankees won’t give him it

Judge is an intriguing free agent for a couple of reasons. As a member of the Yankees, he’s already high-profile. He can also do some special things few others can. He hits for power, plays the outfield well, and has all of the tools needed for an MVP candidate. If not for the 2017 Houston Astros, he would have had one already.

Two issues seem to be weighing heavily on the Yankees when it comes to negotiating. One is his age. Judge turns 30 at the end of April. The other is his history of injury. Judge comes into the 2022 season with only two seasons of playing 500+ plate appearances. He missed significant time in 2018 and 2019. In the shortened 2020 campaign, he played in only 28 of the team’s 60 scheduled games.

Last year’s production put him back in position to receive a monster contract. Judge batted .287/.373/.544 with 39 home runs and another 98 RBI. As great as it was, the team’s one-and-done appearance in the playoffs continues to weigh heavily. Add in his underwhelming playoff performance in 2020 and even the loyalist of Yankees fans may have their own doubts about a long deal with Judge.

Per Rosenthal, the Yankees gave Judge an offer that would have had an average annual value of around $30.5 million. Judge, however, was looking for something closer to what Trout is getting from the Los Angeles Angels. He was hoping to get a deal with an AAV nearer to $36 million. The offer given to him would have still made him the second-highest-paid outfielder in the game in terms of AAV. Only Trout would be earning more.

According to multiple sources of Rosenthal’s, Judge “did not ask for an extension of more than eight years, or a total package – including this year, his final one in arbitration – of more than nine.”

The two sides, while not close, also aren’t as far apart as it may have originally seemed.

The concerns the Yankees have with giving him Trout money are the same other teams will have in free agency. After seeing Carlos Correa settle on a short-term contract full of opt-outs with the Minnesota Twins, Judge may indeed have a tough time ever matching his asking price.