A day after agreeing to a settlement with the New York Yankees, Judge will go to an arbitration hearing at noon on Friday.
On the eve of this season, Judge turned down a $213 million contract offer from the Yankees, leaving open the possibility that he could become a free agent this fall. Judge took a similar approach with his salary in the midst of the best season of his career and with the case about to be heard. Sources say that the Yankees offered to pay $19 million. The management and the union believe that the financial landscape will change in the near future, and that's why they're trying to win an arbitration victory.
During the off-season, players and teams propose salaries and a hearing is usually held in February. The sport's recent off-season calendar was wiped out by the owners' strike, and so the cases have spilled over into this season.
The Yankees and Judge's representatives can't present evidence after the start of the 2022 season because of the unusual timing of the hearing. That Judge is on pace to become the first player in more than two decades to reach 60 homers, has an OPS of over 1.000 this year and is the likely front-runner for the American League Most Valuable Player is supposed to be irrelevant in the arguments.
In the past, hearings were held with all of the principles in the same room -- club officials, the player and his representatives, the arbitrators, and often, cases were settled through informal conversations before or during breaks. Side-by-side dialogue is not possible in this setting.
In the past, officials on both sides have suspected that the overall numbers have had some bearing on decisions, but the arbiters are not supposed to consider that. Nine of the 13 cases have been won by teams.
Judge has been paid according to the Yankees' offer. If he wins the case and is paid $21 million for this year, the team will have to pay him back pay.
Judge has a history of injuries. He has been one of the best players on the field. In his first full season in the majors, he played 155 games and clubbed 52 homers, scored 128 runs, and won the American League's rookies of the year award.
Judge missed a lot of games due to injuries. Judge finished fourth in the American League Most Valuable Player voting.
Judge made close to minimum wage his first three full seasons in the majors, and in his first pass through arbitration in 2020, his salary was pegged at $8.5 million, although he didn't make nearly that much. The Yankees offered a raise of $7 million this year and Judge's salary was $10 million in 2021. The judge's side wanted him to make more money than he did last year.
It will be considered a major victory for the Players Association if the Judge prevails, because it will affect future cases of players who have lost time to injury.
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