Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees have agreed to a $19 million contract deal for the 2022 season, avoiding an arbitration hearing scheduled for Friday, sources confirmed to ESPN.
Judge stands to earn an additional $250,000 per MVP and $250,000 per World Series MVP, according to multiple reports and confirmed by ESPN.
Judge, 30, is in the midst of perhaps his best season, hitting .304 with 27 home runs and 53 RBI in 68 games for the Major League-leading Yankees. He hit a game-winning RBI single in New York’s 7-6 victory over Houston on Thursday night.
Judge and the Yankees were scheduled for an arbitration hearing on Friday. No statistics or evidence after March 1 were admitted, other than contract and salary comparisons, a date set when Major League Baseball and the players’ union reached the agreement that ended the lockout.
On the eve of this season, Judge turned down a $213.5 million contract offer from the Yankees, choosing to leave open the possibility of becoming a free agent this fall. Sources told ESPN’s Buster Olney that the Yankees offered to settle at the midpoint: $19 million. But Judge did not accept and instead aimed for a victory in arbitration.
Judge, 30, received a prorated salary based on the Yankees’ $17 million offer.
This year, Judge is on pace to become the first player in more than two decades to hit 60 home runs, and he has a 1,000-plus OPS this year as the likely favorite for AL MVP.
When Judge has been on the field, he has been one of the best players in the majors. In his first full season of 2017, he played in 155 games and hit 52 home runs, scored 128 runs, won the AL Rookie of the Year award and finished second to the Astros’ José Altuve in MVP voting.
But Judge missed 142 games in the 2018-2020 seasons, with a variety of injuries. Playing 148 games in 2021, Judge returned to pre-eminence, finishing fourth in AL MVP voting.
Judge’s deal with the Yankees was first reported by the New York Post.
With information from Buster Olney of ESPN and The Associated Press.
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Judge and Yankees agree to $19M agreement before arbitration