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ESPN Pundit Left ‘Confused’ by Aaron Judge’s Future Standings With the Yankees; Forecasts ‘Two Scenarios’ for $300+ Million Payday

Published 08/02/2022, 10:50 AM EDT

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In a recent episode on the ESPN podcast titled ‘Baseball Tonight’, the hosts discussed many contemporary issues. The future of Aaron Judge with the New York Yankees was one of those topics. Judge’s term contract with the Yankees is near expiry. So Judge’s Yankees membership is now a significant part of almost every single baseball talk show. 

Baseball Tonight is a podcast on ESPN hosted by experts Buster Olney and Tim Kurkjian. Buster Olney is a sports columnist for ESPN. Olney previously covered the New York Yankees and the New York Giants in the New York Times. While Tim Kurkjian is a sports columnist and analyst for ESPN. On the other hand, Aaron Judge is a baseball icon and star slugger for the Yankees, who needs no formal introduction. 

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Aaron Judge is in the best form of his life in this ongoing MLB season. So are the Yankees on an attractive victory streak. Into his seventh season with the Yankees, Judge’s term contract is about to expire and he will then be a free agent player. So Buster Olney and Tim Kurkjian recently echoed many other pundits’ call for the Yankees to re-sign Judge. 

Aaron Judge’s future with the New York Yankees 

Smashing his way to 43 home runs already this season, Aaron Judge leads the home run tally for the ongoing edition. Judge has surpassed the 200 home run mark for a career total. Already earning a ‘Home Run King’ status, the experts are comparing Judge to Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth. Judge is instrumental in the Yankees’ now standing as American League East rank toppers. 

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The Yankees have a great chance of winning this year’s World Series title. Ignoring any talks on contract extension offers, Judge is focused on winning the trophy. So by the end of this season, Judge and the Yankees look set to part ways. Therefore, experts Buster Olney and Tim Kurkjian recently expressed their thoughts on how the Yankees must act. 

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Speaking to Olney about the Judge-Yankees contract issue, Kurkjian quoted, “I’m confused by the whole thing. Let’s say he hit 66 homers and the Yankees win the World Series. How in the world do they justify not re-signing somebody who’s done everything correctly through his entire Yankee term? What if he hits 66 homers and the Mets win the World Series? And the Yankees get knocked out!!!!” 

Kurkjian further added his ideas on what the Yankees must do by saying, “And now the Mets are the best team in Major League Baseball. How do the Yankees justify letting him go then? So I think there are two scenarios where the Yankees say we’re gonna have to go over 300 million. We’re going to have to overpay because we have to bring him back.” 

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The road ahead for Aaron Judge 

As of now, nobody knows where will Aaron Judge play from next season onward. Judge recently rejected a $30.5 million term extension contract with the Yankees. Judge is presently one of the most successful baseball players and the Yankees are the most popular franchise. So the Yankees will surely need to pay a much larger sum to preserve Judge’s membership. 

Watch This Story – New York Yankees’ Star Aaron Judge’s Impressive Workout Routine 

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Do you think Aaron Judge will continue playing for the New York Yankees? Let us know your views in the comments down below.

 

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Written by:

Madhurjya Bhuyan

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Madhurjya Bhuyan is an MLB author at EssentiallySports. He has a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in English Literature from Gauhati University and IGNOU, respectively, and also possesses prior professional experience as a content developer. Being a performance artist since childhood, Madhurjya has always aimed to contribute towards creativity in any possible manner, and writing only boosts that desire.
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Edited by:

Manaal Siddiqui