Aaron Judge answered baseball’s burning question on Wednesday, agreeing to a nine-year, $360 million contract to stay with the New York Yankees, sources confirmed to ESPN.
Judge, 30, hit it off after one of the greatest seasons in baseball history, hitting an American League record 62 homers to break the mark set by Roger Maris in 1961. Judge earned his first MVP award when he hit . 425/.686 with an AL leading 131 RBIs.
Judge’s historic season came after a player failed to reach a contract extension with the Yankees before Opening Day, with general manager Brian Cashman publicly revealing that the team’s final extension offer was for seven years, $213.5 million.
After the season, team owner Hal Steinbrenner said he wanted Judge to be a Yankee for life and met with Champion in Tampa, Florida, to talk about a contract.
During baseball’s Winter Meetings in San Diego, Cashman, who signed a four-year extension with the Yankees, said the team prioritized re-signing Judge but did not set a timetable for his decision.
“We’d love to have our player back,” Cashman said Monday. “We’d like to keep calling him our player every step of the way because he’s following what looks like — as long as nothing happens — a career path that will lead him to Cooperstown. I’d like him to be in pinstripes every step of the way.”
The 6-foot-7, who was born in Linden, California, attended Linden High School and later Fresno State before being drafted by the Yankees with the 32nd overall pick in 2013. He won the AL Rookie of the Year award in 2017 after Kahn hit a then rookie-record 52 home runs—a total he would not have surpassed until his record-setting campaign in 2022.
Judge, a four-time All-Star, has 220 homers and 497 RBIs in seven big league seasons.
MLB Network first reported that Judge would re-sign with the Yankees, while The Athletic first reported on the terms of the agreement.