Anthony Rizzo: Aaron Judge Suggested He's 'Worth More' Than Yankees' Contract Offer

After being swept out of the American League Championship Series, the New York Yankees face the possibility of losing outfielder Aaron Judge in free agency.

In a profile from ESPN's Jeff Passan, Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo said the presumptive AL MVP told Rizzo he was "worth more" than what the team offered after general manager Brian Cashman went public with the contract offer in April.

Judge set a deadline of Opening Day to reach an agreement on a long-term deal with the Yankees.

When that didn't happen, Cashman took the unusual step of publicly disclosing that Judge turned down a seven-year extension worth $213.5 million. The deal would have started in 2023.

The Yankees would have combined that extension with a $17 million arbitration salary for 2022, bringing the total value to $230.5 million over eight years. The $28.8 million average annual salary under those terms would have ranked 16th in MLB, sandwiched between Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale ($29 million) and New York Mets starter Jacob deGrom ($27.5 million).

Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Judge made a counteroffer to the Yankees with a deal for nine or 10 years and $36 million annually. Heyman said a source close to Judge denied the terms of the counterproposal, though.

While some have speculated Judge could sign the richest contract in MLB history this offseason, teams need to take some factors into consideration. He turns 31 on April 26 and missed at least 32 games in each season from 2018 to 2020.

The San Francisco Giants appear to be all-in on signing Judge. Randy Miller of NJ.com reported the National League West club will "spend whatever it takes" to sign the California native.

Rejecting the offer seems like it'll pay off for Judge. He had a historic 2022 campaign in which he set a new AL record with 62 homers and had the highest wRC+ (208) since Barry Bonds in 2004 (233).

Judge has been the face of the Yankees since his rookie season in 2017. He has hit 220 homers with a .977 OPS in 729 career games. New York has made the playoffs in each of his six seasons, but it hasn't advanced past the ALCS.

The Yankees won the AL East this season for the first time since 2019, but they were swept in the ALCS by the Houston Astros.