TAMPA — As Aaron Judge’s contract saga goes on, the outfielder has said repeatedly that he wants to remain a Yankee for the remainder of his career — but he’s also touched on the reality that if he hits free agency, there are plenty of other teams that would love to have him.
It’s a possibility his teammates don’t want to envision.
“I can’t imagine him anywhere else,” DJ LeMahieu said this week. “I don’t think anyone could. I don’t want to even think about it.”
Judge can be a free agent after this season. Because of the MLB lockout that prevented offseason business being conducted for more than three months, arbitration numbers were only exchanged recently and the Yankees and Judge couldn’t discuss an extension — or anything else — until the work stoppage ended.
The Yankees’ priority then became filling out this year’s roster and they settled on one-year deals with their other 11 arbitration-eligible players.
That leaves Judge, who will get an extension offer before Opening Day, according to general manager Brian Cashman, who was heeding Judge’s self-imposed deadline. Judge has said he didn’t want to deal with the distraction of a negotiation once the season started.
Judge later backed off a bit on that deadline, but both sides would clearly prefer a resolution sooner rather than later.
“I don’t think it would impact him, but when you’re in contract talks, you definitely don’t want it to drag into the season,’’ Aaron Hicks said. “You want to focus on the season, which is why I think it’s so important for him to want to get it done. It eases your mind and you’re at peace with whatever happens. You kind of have a resolution. The longer it lingers, it can make it tough to play. I hope they come up with something soon and he’s a Yankee for the rest of his career.”
LeMahieu was able to strike a new deal in free agency during the previous offseason. And Hicks avoided free agency entirely by signing a seven-year, $70 million extension — after agreeing to a one-year deal in arbitration — prior to the 2019 season.
“For some people, free agency is a great experience,’’ Hicks said. “And for some people, it’s not. Having to go another year [before hitting the market], worrying about your health and all the other things that come into play, it could make you play a little safer.”
Like LeMahieu, Hicks hopes it doesn’t come to that with Judge.
“I hope he never goes anywhere,’’ Hicks said. “That’s not what anyone wants. He came here right from Fresno State and stepped right into a Yankee uniform. That’s where he belongs. He’s great for this team.”
Judge turns 30 next month and is expected to want at least a six- or seven-year deal, worth north of $200 million.
He’s coming off his best and healthiest season since he was a rookie in 2017.
In that time, he’s been the Yankees’ biggest star.
“Over the last couple of years, he’s definitely become the leader of this team,’’ Kyle Higashioka said. “It definitely would not be the same without him, but the front office gets paid to do what they do. There’s not much me or anyone else can do to change that.”
If the pressure of the discussions are getting to Judge, he’s not showing it, according to Higashioka.
“Talking to him casually day-to-day, I can’t see anything affecting him. He seems normal,” Higashioka said. “He’s really good about that, too. He’s really mentally tough. … You need that in baseball.’’
