Hal Steinbrenner made headlines earlier in Spring Training when he announced that the Yankees would offer a contract extension to Aaron Judge prior to Opening Day. Naturally, this excited Yankee fans and made them feel as if an extension announcement was on the horizon. However, we are just a few days away from the start of the 2022 season and Judge still has no extension. 

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic recently reported that Judge and the Yankees are not close on a Contract. 

“The problem for Judge is that his extension almost certainly would begin in 2023, when he will be entering his age-31 season. The Yankees might not be willing to give him more than six or seven years at that age, especially when he has played more than 112 games in only two of his four full seasons (he also missed more than half of the shortened 2020 campaign).”

New York’s hesitancy is adding to the frustration Yankee fans expressed during the offseason when the team failed to sign any marquee free agents. 

New York reportedly made an offer last weekend, but they are reluctant to offer Judge a significant number of years due to age and health. Judge seems to desire a longer term deal as compared to a short and loaded contract. 

So is there still any chance of an extension coming to fruition before Spring Training comes to an end? 

Yes, but the Yankees and Aaron Judge will need to compromise. New York might need to add another year two onto a deal, and Judge may need to accept a shorter term deal than he originally would have preferred. He is in the driver’s seat since he will have the option to leave in free agency. 

For now, we will wait and see if any progress is made by Opening Day.