Judge’s Yankees future is suddenly front and center

Carlos Correa has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Twins, while Kris Bryant went to the Rockies and Freddie Freeman is a Dodger -- back home in southern California. There are still free agents available, for sure. But suddenly the big story of the spring -- between now and Opening Day -- is about a big man with a big number, 99, eligible to become a free agent when this season ends if he doesn’t sign a contract extension. That is Aaron Judge.

Judge is the most popular Yankee since Derek Jeter. He became the new face of the Yankees after he hit 52 home runs in 2017, when the Yankees played all the way until Game 7 of the American League Championship Series against the Astros.

Big man, big number, looking for a very big money -- and a contract that will make him what he says he very much wants to be, which is a Yankee for life.

Here is what Judge said about that the other day in Tampa:

“As long as I’m playing baseball, I want to be wearing pinstripes. It’s been an honor and a blessing to be here, getting a chance to play for this franchise, to be surrounded by so many great players and walk in the footsteps of so many other former great players that have played this game.

"There's no better place to play on this planet. I strongly believe that and I've been vocal about that. I want to stay here in pinstripes. So if that happens, it happens. But if it comes to it that it doesn't, like I said before, I'll enjoy my memories here."

The owner of the Yankees, Hal Steinbrenner, says the conversations about a new contract for Judge will begin soon, if they haven’t begun already. General manager Brian Cashman says he wants to keep Judge around “if we can.” Now, we will see how this plays out, countdown in progress, Judge having already told the media in Tampa that he won’t be talking about his contract situation past the time when Opening Day arrives.

Do I think Judge will stay? I do, especially after a baseball offseason in which the Yankees didn’t make the kind of free-agent splash their fans hoped they might make for Freeman, or even Correa -- even with a kid they think is their shortstop of the future, Anthony Volpe, waiting in the wings. But a longtime marriage with their right fielder and the guy who was back to being their best player in 2021 is not without some legitimate concerns on the part of Judge’s team.

Even though Judge played 148 games last season, he had missed a quarter of the Yankees’ regular-season games since he was runner-up to Jose Altuve for MVP in 2017. He missed 50 games with injuries the next season and another 60 games with injuries in '19. In the COVID-shortened ’20 season, Judge eventually played 28 games out of 60. When he did stay on the field in ’21, he reminded everybody what a force he can be: He hit 39 homers and ended up fourth in the AL MVP voting. Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees' other power forward, came to the team by trade. Yankees fans look at Judge as being one of their own, because he came up through the system. They consider him to be family.

There is also one other piece to this conversation: Judge turns 30 at the end of April. The last time the Yankees agreed to a rich, long-term extension with somebody past the age of 30 was the $275 million, 10-year deal with Alex Rodriguez -- after he’d opted out of the 10-year contract (for $252 million) he brought with him to New York from the Rangers. Rodriguez, after all of his various controversies, did not even make it to Year 10, retiring after the 2016 season, age 41, with a .200 batting average, nine homers, 31 RBIs.

Kris Bryant turned 30 in January, and just got an eight-year contract with the Rockies. He’ll be 37 by the end of that one. Freddie Freeman will be 38 in Los Angeles. Will Judge be looking for at least an eight-year deal? It’s hard to believe he won’t be. And Judge is fully aware that Gerrit Cole was in his age 29 season with the Yankees when he began the 10-year, $324 million contract he scored as a free agent leaving the Astros.

Is it possible the Yankees and Judge might not reach an agreement before Opening Day? Anything is possible. We don’t know what the Yankees are prepared to offer, and the kind of deal for which Judge and his agent are looking. If he does play it out, it means he would have as much on the line during the season that does begin on Opening Day -- deadline day in his mind -- as anybody in the game.

This is how Judge put it this past week, in his own words:

“[On] April 7, we don’t be talking about this anymore. … Once it’s April 7 and a packed house in the Bronx, it’s going to be time to focus on winning ballgames and that’s it.”

Three weeks until then, already counting down. Who says there’s no clock in baseball?