No Need To Wait For The Contract Verdict: Make Judge The Yankees Captain Now
Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman is walking around town with his head held high these days, regaling in the glory from the dominant performances by his previously-derided pitching staff over the first third of the season. Winners of its last six games, the organization enjoyed a well-deserved day off on Monday while looking down on the rest of Major League Baseball from its perch as the top team at 39-15.
However, Cashman isn’t finished with his to-do list for the season. Among the highest of priorities, there’s still the game of chicken he’s playing with his MVP-caliber outfielder Aaron Judge, who is awaiting an arbitration hearing on June 22 to determine whether he will be earning $17 million or $21 million for the 2022 baseball season. If Cashman doesn’t get Judge signed to a long-term extension by the end of the season, Judge, 30, could bolt as one of MLB’s most coveted free agents ever.
The Yankees and Judge halted contract negotiations on Opening Day, at least publicly. Judge was reportedly ticked that Cashman gave the media a heads-up in May on the team’s proposal—seven years, $213.5 million (starting next season). It’s a solid offer for a player of Judge’s age and injury history, but Cashman made a mistake in disclosing it.
Meanwhile, Judge has been tearing the cover off of baseballs, leading all of MLB with 21 home runs and a 1.059 OPS, which has only added to his leverage. He’s playing center field more often (20 games) this season as opposed to right field, increasing his value. Matching Angels outfielder Mike Trout’s league-high (for a position player) AAV of $36 million, versus the $30.5 million offered, no longer looks unreasonable.
There’s one way for the organization to begin to change the narrative over this looming off-field issue and it’s a move I’m shocked hasn’t already been made—make Judge the Captain.
It’s a highly prestigious distinction. You wouldn’t think so given the sport—captains are more regarded in hockey than in baseball—but the Yankees are different. There have only been 15 captains in the franchise’s history, with just six after Lou Gehrig’s retirement in 1939. In the last 30 years, only Don Mattingly and Derek Jeter have had such an honor bestowed upon them.
Even without the title, Judge already is the face of the team. New York is loaded with talent, but Judge is the one Bronx Bomber fans from all over specifically come out to see. You don’t want to miss an at bat, for every swing has the potential to result in baseball launched majestically high and far.
In addition, he’s a homegrown Yankee, drafted in the first round (32nd overall) in the 2013 MLB Draft. He’s reportedly well-liked in the clubhouse, he plays hard, and he’s never been on the wrong side of the news cycle. His qualifications to be captain check all the boxes.
Honestly, what’s the holdup here? Judge is as much deserving of the captaincy as Mattingly was. Are the Yankees afraid that they’ll reward him with the title and then he’ll leave anyway after the season?
Who cares? It’s still the right thing to do—and it can only help with the overall relationship between the two parties.