Back in the nascent days of the leadup to the memorable 2022 season, Aaron Judge decided to head to arbitration with the Yankees over the terms of his contract for his season. The two sides were unable to come to terms on either that or a long-term extension, pre-Opening Day, so now all that had to be settled was his 2022 contract.
Coming to terms on an agreement took until the actual day of the planned arbitration hearing, which would have been the Yankees’ first since their contentious case with former bullpen ace Dellin Betances in 2017.