Yankees owner wants Judge for ‘rest of his life’

“I have absolutely conveyed that I want him to be a Yankee for the rest of his life,” Steinbrenner said at the MLB owners meetings in New York on Tuesday. “There’s no question about that – he knows that.”

The sentiment marked the latest in a series of public comments from Steinbrenner indicating the team’s strong interest in bringing Judge back on a long-term contract. In an interview with YES Network, Steinbrenner said that naming Judge team captain if the slugger returns “is something we would consider.”

Judge has stated in the past that his preference is to stay with the Yankees, and Steinbrenner believes that remains the case.

“I think [Judge] wants to be a Yankee,” Steinbrenner said. “I think we have a good thing going here.”

Judge turned down an offer from the Yankees before Opening Day this season that would have paid him $213.5 million from 2023 through 2029. He responded with the best season of his career: hitting an American League record 62 home runs and likely securing American League Most Valuable Player honors, and cementing his place as one of the top free agents on the market.

“The rest is up to him and his family and where they want to go from here,” Steinbrenner said. But we’ll do what we can, I’ll tell you that.

While Judge is likely to receive one of the biggest free agent contracts, Steinbrenner said that wouldn’t stop the Yankees from spending more money in free agency.

“We have a lot of ability to make other things happen as well,” Steinbrenner said.