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New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman finally came out and said the words all Yankee fans have been waiting to hear, as he told reporters Saturday that the club “will make an offer” for star outfielder Aaron Judge to stay long-term.
According to the Associated Press, Cashman said those conversations will take place prior to Opening Day. “Obviously, he’ll receive an offer and all of our conversations will have taken place,” explained Cashman. “It will either resolve in a multiyear deal, or it won’t.” He went on to say that the Yankees are “committed” to resolving this matter before the season starts.
Judge, a free agent at the conclusion of the 2022 season, has been on record saying he does not expect to negotiate after Opening Day as he wants to focus solely on baseball during the season. If both sides stick to this deadline, then they only have a short window, fewer then 10 days, to agree to a major money contract extension.
The soon-to-be 30-year-old outfielder has stated his desire to stay in New York and remain a Yankee long-term if the right offer comes along. “Like I’ve said, I want to be here,” said Judge. “Any way we can lock that up and get a chance to play here for quite a few more years, that would be great. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, I’m not too worried.”
Adding an extra wrinkle to the proceedings, New York and Judge were unable to agree upon a 2022 contract, with the two sides filing for arbitration. Judge has requested $21 million while the Yankees have countered at $17 million. These two sides may have their relationship tested in an arbitration hearing if they are unable to solve this multi-year contract extension before Opening Day.
Judge has been a star for New York since his debut. He has a career .276/.386/.554 batting line with 158 home runs and 366 RBI across six seasons. Last year he led the Yankees with 39 homers and 98 RBI while also leading the team in batting average (.287), on-base percentage (.373), and slugging percentage (.544). So long as Judge can remain healthy, he will continue to put up elite numbers and should be in line for one of the richest contracts in the game, whether it be with the Bombers or somewhere else by the start of the 2023 season.
Its Jo Time!
Angels outfielder Jo Adell is off to an absolutely scorching start to the spring. After going 2-for-2 with a home run, and two stolen bases against the White Sox on Saturday, he is now 6-for-19 with three homers, seven RBI, five runs scored, and three stolen bases across eight games.
A former consensus top-five prospect, Adell has struggled so far at the MLB level, hitting .205 across 272 plate appearances while striking out 32 percent of the time. While things haven’t gone to plan for the youngster just yet, his potential is incredible, with five-category abilities and 30/30 upside. At just 22 years old, Adell could be on the verge of putting everything together and begin living up to his immense promise.
With a spot in the outfield his for the taking and looking locked in already at the plate, this could be the last time fantasy managers have to get in on the ground floor of a possible superstar. There’s plenty of space on the Jo Adell bandwagon, hop on now!
MLB looks to eliminate sign-stealing
Interesting news on the administrative front as Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic reports that Major League Baseball has made several proposals to the MLBPA with a focus on preventing sign stealing. These measures include prohibiting batters from reviewing scouting cards or other information during at-bats, eliminating printing information during games, and allowing pitchers and catchers to use a wireless PitchCom device if they so choose.
While these are just proposals and nothing has been agreed to, these could have a big impact in the future. At the very least, these measures could quell some of major uproar from fans regarding the sign-stealing issue since the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox scandals of the past five years.
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American League Quick Hits: Rafael Devers continued his hot spring, smashing two long balls against Corey Kluber. Jackie Bradley Jr and Kike Hernandez also went deep vs the Rays. That marks back-to-back games with a long ball for Hernandez. … Yankees’ slugger Joey Gallo hit his first homer of the spring while his teammate Giancarlo Stanton also went deep vs the Blue Jays. … Cavan Biggio continues to make his case to be the Blue Jays regular second baseman, hitting his first homer of the spring vs the Yankees. He is now 4-for-8 so far this spring with four walks and a stolen base. Meanwhile teammate Greg Bird his second homer of the spring as he looks to make the roster as Vladimir Guerrero Jr’s backup at first base. … Mariners’ first baseman Evan White will undergo core muscle surgery due to a sports hernia. ... Twins’ star Byron Buxton sure looks healthy. He hit a double and homer against the Braves on Saturday. Meanwhile new team, same results for catcher Gary Sanchez as he went 0-3 with 3 strikeouts. … White Sox OF Luis Robert has struggled so far this spring, but he hit his first homer against the Angels. ... Franmil Reyes is off to a strong start for the Guardians, as he’s now 5-for-12 with three RBI and a stolen base.
In his first action of the spring, Corey Kluber struggled against the Red Sox, giving up six hits, four earned runs, and three homers across 3 1/3 innings. … Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani was a healthy scratch from his spring debut on the mound on Saturday, but still managed to hit a home run at the plate. Manager Joe Maddon said that Ohtani is not injured and will take the hill on Thursday instead. He is still expected to be the Angels’ Opening Day starter. … Mixed results from young Toronto pitchers, as Alek Manoah looked good over 3 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out 3 vs. the Yankees while Nate Pearson was tagged for three runs across his two innings of work. … Mariners right-hander Chris Flexen was roughed up by Milwaukee, serving up three homers and four earned runs across four innings.
National League Quick Hits: Tommy Pham officially signed his one-year, $7.5 million contract with the Reds on Saturday. The 34-year-old will slot in as the Reds primary center fielder and tablesetter near the top of the lineup. … Cubs shortstop Andrelton Simmons is dealing with right shoulder soreness and his availability for Opening Day is now in question… Phillies’ Rhys Hoskins and Didi Gregorius both went deep vs. the Tigers. … In the battle to be the Mets primary designated hitter, Dominic Smith went 1-2 with a double and a walk while Robinson Cano went 1-3 with a walk and RBI. Fellow Met Eduardo Escobar hit his first homer and is 5-for-9 to start the spring… Braves OF/DH Marcell Ozuna hit his first home run of the spring Saturday. … Newly acquired Padres’ first baseman Luke Voit got his power stroke going on Saturday, hitting his first homer of the spring, while top prospect CJ Abrams went 1-for-3 with a stolen base. … Outfielder Randal Grichuck hit his second homer of the spring for the Rockies. His power numbers will be boosted by his new home park… New Brewers DH Andrew McCutchen still has some pop, going deep twice against Seattle. ... Keston Hiura is having one impressive spring, slashing .462/.563/1.231. He homered and drove in two runs against the Mariners on Saturday. ... Dodgers’ third baseman Justin Turner went 2-for-2 with a walk, home run and three RBIs against the Royals. Turner’s teammate Cody Bellinger looks lost at the plate, going 0-for-4 with 4 strikeouts. He has struck out 14 times in 19 at-bats this spring.
It was a great day for Marlins starters, as Trevor Rogers and Elieser Hernandez combined for six innings, allowing only three hits and one earned run against St. Louis. Meanwhile Cards’ starter Steven Matz had a first inning to forget against Miami, giving up six earned in the opening frame. … A nice outing from Taijuan Walker, as he pitched two scoreless innings against the Nationals while giving up just one hit. ... San Francisco’s Alex Wood threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings while striking out three. He has yet to give up a run across two starts this spring. … Reds top prospect Hunter Greene got into some trouble in the second inning, but held the Giants scoreless over his two frames of work. He was followed by two scoreless innings from Vladimir Gutierrez who gave up only one hit while striking out three. … Rockies starter Austin Gomber gave up one run across three innings against the Rangers, allowing a lone home run while striking out three.