Yankees notes: Judge, LeMahieu, Bowman

Aaron Judge Nearing his final year of refereeing eligibility, the struggling player is on track to be one of the next best free agents in the Offseason. judge from expected By Matt Schwartz, MLBTR contributor, for a salary of $17.1 million, he has expressed openness in the past to making a long-term deal with the Yankees and avoiding the free market altogether.

The judge recently reiterated his desire to sign the extension, although he did not appear to feel any pressure to seal a deal. In an appearance on Ryan Ruocco and CC Sabathia’s R2C2 podcastThe 29-year-old was asked about the possibility of signing a long-term deal. “If we get an extension sometime before the season starts, it will be The judge answered. “ID I’m totally honored to be able to wear the pens for a few more years. But if that hadn’t happened and this was my last year, I would have had a lot of great memories. …everything is in the hands of God. It will work the way it’s supposed to work. “

The judge has not explicitly stated that he would not be willing to negotiate a season extension, although some fans may read his mention of “before the season started” as an implied indication that he would prefer to avoid the conversations that draw into the regular campaign. In any case, it seems likely that the Yankees front office will open talks with its representatives at PSI Sports Management at some point between the end of the shutdown and opening day. Earlier this season, General Manager Brian Cashman suggested that the front office was benefit In the possibility of preventing the judge from entering the open market.

Some Yankees anecdotes:

• DJ Limaheu He underwent surgery for a sports hernia shortly after the season, but it doesn’t look like it will have much of an impact in 2022. Kristi Ackert in the New York Daily News He rehabilitated for a few weeks before returning to hitting practice. The 2020 batting champ should be the best for spring training, whenever he starts. LeMahieu sarcastically told Ackert that he could be ready for the regular season in a couple of days, but took the serious view that a four-week ramp-up period would be necessary. When the games begin, LeMahieu will be looking to bounce back from an uncharacteristically unusual show. He made just ten home runs across 679 board appearances last year, scoring his .268/.349/.362 streak as exactly the league production average by wRC+ metric. That’s far from the excellent .336/.386/.536 he put out from 2019-20, a shape he’s clearly hoping to get back in this year.
• Spring training is taking place in the minor leagues, and players not on the 40-player squad rosters are not affected by the ongoing shutdown. Devoted former Cardinals and Reds Matt Bowman He is not currently a member of the guild, as he is camped with the Yankees in a non-existing deal. Bowman, who underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2020, signed a two-year contract for Palace with the Yankees in their latest off-season. After spending all of his 2021 rehab, he has made a full recovery and is in a minor league camp, Dan Martin writes for the New York Post. Bowman clocked 181 1/3 a rest tire between 2017-20, heading for a 4.02 ERA/3.86 SIERA. When the shutdown is over, the right-handed will try to get a middle innings job at the Bullpen Yankees.