Report: Judge, Yankees avoid arbitration hearing with $19M deal

The New York Yankees avoided an arbitration hearing with star outfielder Aaron Judge after the two sides settled on a $19-million salary plus incentives for the 2022 season, a source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand.

Judge can earn $250,000 for a first-place MVP finish and another $250,000 for winning World Series MVP, Feinsand reports.

The Yankees initially offered $17 million, with Judge countering at $21 million. The two sides were unable to reach an agreement on a long-term extension before the season after the latter rejected a seven-year $213.5-million offer.

Judge is authoring a terrific campaign so far, helping the Yankees to baseball's best record. The three-time All-Star leads MLB with 27 home runs while appearing in 68 of 70 games this season.

The 30-year-old is set to arguably become the most coveted free agent following this season. Despite an uncertain future, the slugger remains most focused on helping the Yankees win a championship for the first time since 2009.

"I’m not really motivated by that kind of stuff," Judge said earlier this week, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.

"I’m more motivated by the type of team we’ve got, the special talent we have here, and the opportunity we have ahead of us. I try to just keep focusing on that, and it makes it pretty easy to block this other stuff with the business side out."