At the general managers meetings in Las Vegas on Tuesday, New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman spoke about negotiations with all-star Aaron Judge.
"If you could wave a magic wand, we would secure Aaron Judge and retain him and have him signed and happy in the fold as soon as possible,” Cashman said when asked about negotiations with the MVP finalist. “He’s a free agent. He’s earned the right to be a free agent, so he’ll dictate the dance steps.”
Judge is coming off a 2022 season in which he broke Roger Maris' American League home run record with 62. The 30-year-old slugger was also in the running for a triple crown, hitting .311 with 131 RBI.
Cashman offered "no comment" on whether New York had been in touch with the outfielder's camp.
The Yankees won the AL East with 99 wins and advanced to the ALCS this past season, before losing to the eventual World Series champion Houston Astros in four games.
Now a four-time all-star, Judge came into the season after declining a $213.5 million extension and is expected to make upwards of $300 million as a free agent after his record-setting year.
Cashman also discussed the team's interest in retaining first baseman Anthony Rizzo.
“We’d love to sign Anthony Rizzo back if possible,” he said. “We’ll stay in touch with him as well as the rest of the marketplace. We clearly have a vacancy now at first base. The preference would be to retain the player we know and like. Ultimately, you have to explore all options — trade vs. free agency.”
The 12-year MLB veteran hit .224 with 32 home runs and 75 RBI in 130 games with the Yankees in 2022. He is expected to receive the $19.65 million qualifying offer on Tuesday, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
Cashman's own contract expired on Oct. 31 but he has stayed on as GM at the request of Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner.
"Work first, contract second," he said. "It’s something that we’ll sit down and get to, but there [are] some bigger things that need to be taken care of first.”
