Monday, December 13, 2021

Congratulations, Aaron Judge! Now that you're married, let's get down to business

This weekend, Aaron Judge married his high school sweetheart in Hawaii. Everybody! For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow, which nobody can deny. Which nobody can deny, which nobody can deny, for he's a jolly good felloooooow, WHICH NOBODY CAN DENY.

And he IS a jolly good fellow. I'm not denying it. Nobody can. 

At the end of 2022, Judge will become a free agent, capable of choosing his destiny (which might include fatherhood, hint hint?) He says he wants to be a Yankee for life, Frankly, there is no reason why the Death Barge should not slide a ring onto his huge finger and say, "We do." 

In April, Judge turns 30. Through age 29, here are his statistical MLB doppelgangers, according to Baseball Reference:


Look closely. None of these fine human beings will ever make the Hall of Fame. (Martinez would come closest; he needs a few more big seasons.) This is a list of hitters who ruled in their 20s and then hit the wall. (Giles collapsed at 30; Davis, 33; Mitchell, 34; Cash, 37; Wagner, 34; Nixon, 33; Justice, 34; Martinez is now 33, and Humanis Centepedes was done at 32, though he doesn't seem to know it.) 

Listen: Judge is a great player whom the Yankees want to keep. A fixture in RF. A fine teammate. A future plaque in Monument Park. But only once - his breakout 2017 season - has he driven in more than 100 runs. Last year, he hit 39 HRs and batted .287 - but only 98 RBIs, batting second in a stacked lineup. WTF? Twenty players had at least 100 RBIs. Bo Bichette. Austin Meadows. Marcus Semien. Yeesh. And Judge was pretty much healthy all year. 

The Rangers recently gave Cory Seager a 10-year deal worth $325 million, even though he'll probably move from SS in a few seasons. If Judge demands a 10-year deal - similar to what Giancarlo Stanton received from Miami - the Yankees should  consider doing what our AL East rivals would do: 

Trade him, now. 

We'll have Stanton through 2028, when he'll be 37 and probably playing golf. As bad as Stanton's contract is, he still wouldn't be as old as Judge's final season, if he gets a decade-long deal. And let's face it: By 2028, the Yankees would be knee-deep in gigantic DHs, neither of whom would likely be hitting his weight.  

It's sad to say this, especially during his honeymoon, because we all love Judge and what he brings to the franchise. But if Judge wants a 10-year deal, he's not doing the Yankees any favors. And they should say no. 

There should never be a reason for a Yankee fan to suggest austerity, when it comes to players' salaries. Hal Steinbrenner has so much money that, if he started counting today, he would die of old age before reaching the final dime. Someday, Hal will wake up and realize what owning the NY Yankees was supposed to mean, and how that in his quest for more money, he dismantled his father's one successful legacy. So be it. 

But even when considering Hal's unimaginable wealth, Judge still shouldn't get a 10-year deal. It's a grift, pure and simple. If wanting to be a Yankee for life means being paid by the Yankees for life - nope - we should move on. We made the mistake with A-Rod. We made the mistake with Stanton. Three strikes, and we're out. 

9 comments:

  1. I'm sorry, but the Yankees watched Strike 3 go by many, many contracts ago. Like so many Yankee sluggers who have just failed to deliver, Cashman stared at his bat and trudged back to the dugout.

    Many of us here and elsewhere in Yankeeland are showing symptoms of Stockholm syndrome, trying to be careful with Steinbrenner's money. Used to be, we didn't care about the overspending, but we've been abused so many times with the Luxury-Tax water torture that we hear the excuses coming before the ink dries on the next colossal contract.

    There was a time when Yankee fans fought back, like that glorious day when Reggie returned as an Angel, and George was serenaded by the entire Stadium: STEINBRENNER SUCKS!

    Hal is too smart to come down from the luxury boxes where he's protected by a security detail. Still, I hope he stumbles upon this (quoting one of our prolific posters): FUCK YOU, HAL!

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  2. I like Judge quite a bit. That said, he has already made over 20M in his career, with another 15-20 M due this year, his last in arbitration.
    This does not include all the endorsement deals which he has gotten, based in large part because he has been the face of the Yankee franchise.
    If he won't give the Yanks a home town discount or a reasonable deal of 6 or 7 years, DEAL HIM.
    Deal him the first day that you can.
    Send him to Seattle or San Diego or some other semi-small town where he could swim in a small baseball pond and we could get three useable prospects. A Mookie Betts type deal is totally doable with any franchise that believes that it is one OF from the WS.
    Just dO iT.
    Better yet, send him to Cleveland or Cincy and he can enjoy the cosmopolitan nightlife that they have. Pittsburgh has its charm as well

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  3. as a free agent at the end of this year, he doesn't have a ton of value in a trade. unfortunately, major league baseball doesn't value expiring contracts the same way the NBA does.

    I like him a lot, too. Very solid baseball player all around. A pleasure to watch. Good guy. If it was up to me, I'd sign him, even with the inevitable deterioration at the end of the term.

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  5. That chart was VERY telling. Thank you for posting it. It really puts things in perspective.

    The trading or signing of Aaron Judge is a very difficult question for a number of reasons.

    It really comes down to who the Yankees are going to be in the next 5-7 years.

    If the philosophy of the front office is to, as I read the other day, put on a good show and make money but NOT do what it takes to win... Then keeping one of our favorite stars makes sense. He has one of the highest AGHABs on the team.

    If the philosophy is to restore the franchise to its former glory then they should trade him, get back quality, and use the 25-30M a year differently.

    Sadly, I believe that it is going to be the former. So keep him. But really I would rather it were the latter.

    I suppose that it is possible that, at the end of the year, the market for his skills doesn't warrant a huge huge long contract and he can be signed for only 5-6 years. I mean other GMs can read that chart too.

    So there's that.

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  6. Sure, other GMs can read the chart. But can the Brain read it?

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  7. The Red Sox got Dodgers #1 and #3 prospects for a 1-year rental of Betts. Granted that was after a MVP season. They also got a lower ranked catcher.

    They should be able to wrangle one or two solid prospects for Judge if he doesn't want to sign with the Yanks.
    That money could be spent in a myriad of useful ways, at least if we had a good GM.

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  8. 7@210. But the time it’s over Stanton will be also out of the picture and hopefully the Martian is in center.

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  9. You're right, Duque. Judge's meager RBI total is completely his fault. That entire "stacked" lineup...

    seriously, man, adjust the dosage if you think that's a failure on Judge's part. When did HAL sign you on as controlled opposition?

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