NEW YORK -- Aaron Judge has repeatedly said he hopes to play his entire career in Yankees pinstripes. General manager Brian Cashman believes the organization tried to make that happen in their extension talks, which will resume after the regular season.

Judge said he was “disappointed” after rejecting a seven-year, $213.5 million extension proposal from the Yankees on Opening Day. The clubs also remain apart on Judge’s 2022 salary, a matter that could be settled by an arbitration hearing. Judge has requested $21 million, while the club countered at $17 million.

“I don’t presume anything, because it takes a lot when you’re putting together a trade or coming to contract terms, but we went in with the legitimate intent of coming out [with a long-term deal],” Cashman said on WFAN Sports Radio. “If you don’t have the outcome you want on the timeline you have, which for us was Opening Day, you still get another bite of the apple. We entered with a legit effort, and now we live to fight another day.”

Cashman said discussions with Judge began about three weeks before the end of Spring Training, and he alerted Judge’s camp “probably 72 hours” before the outfielder’s self-imposed Opening Day deadline that contract figures would be revealed publicly if the sides did not agree.

The proposed deal would have been valued at $30.5 million per season, the highest average annual value ever issued to a Yankees position player, exceeding the $27.5 million AAV of Alex Rodríguez's final contract with New York.

Judge and his agent, Page Odle, are seeking one of the largest deals ever issued to an outfielder. That group features: Mike Trout (12 years, $426.5 million), Mookie Betts (12 years, $365 million), Bryce Harper (13 years, $330 million) and Giancarlo Stanton (13 years, $325 million).

Cashman declined to say if Judge and Odle were seeking a nine-year commitment.

“The one thing that Aaron Judge has been willing to share is the intent of wanting to be here for life,” Cashman said. “For some players, that’s a lot longer than other players in terms of their careers. You see what Tom Brady is doing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers right now. His career is going a lot longer than most.”

Judge has said he will not negotiate with the Yankees during the season, believing that doing so would be a distraction. Cashman said he continues to take that statement at face value, though he is open to speaking during the season if Judge so desires.

“The great thing about that is, that man [Judge] has the hand on the steering wheel of his life, as he should,” Cashman said. “He should only do what he feels comfortable doing. Just like conversely in terms of what we offer. It’s just how it works. Ultimately the magic happens when people can find common ground and see it together the same way.”

Offseason revisited
Cashman said the Yankees felt they needed to “keep some powder dry” this past offseason as they plotted to retain Judge. Cashman said he received calls regarding the availability of Carlos Correa, sharing with ownership that the shortstop’s circumstances seemed to be changing.

Correa agreed to a three-year, $105.3 million deal with the Twins that includes opt-out clauses after each of the first two seasons. Cashman said Correa “just didn’t fit” financially for the Yankees, saying he remains pleased by the club’s trade with Minnesota to import third baseman Josh Donaldson, shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa and catcher Ben Rortvedt.

“The Minnesota deal accomplished a lot of different things for us that we were happy with,” Cashman said. “Obviously we added payroll by doing that, versus what eventually was available later on that spring post-lockout when ultimately the Correa camp decided to do a short-term deal.”

Cashman said the Yankees were also in touch with the representatives for first baseman Freddie Freeman, especially after the Braves traded for the Athletics’ Matt Olson. The Dodgers signed Freeman to a six-year, $162 million deal.

“We never made an official offer, whether it was Correa or Freeman,” Cashman said. “We certainly were in touch with the representation about what they were looking for.”

Dollars and sense
Cashman reiterated that the Yankees’ Opening Day payroll -- $246 million, according to Fangraphs -- is the largest in franchise history. Only the Dodgers ($286 million) and Mets ($279 million) have more salary on the books for their 2022 club.

“The Steinbrenner family has done nothing but to step up, time and time again,” Cashman said. “We compete at the highest level for the best players in the world. You can’t have them all, but we certainly have done our fair share of acquiring or retaining some of the best-talented baseball players this world has ever seen.”