Yankees Agree to Deal With Aaron Judge and Avoid Arbitration With Entire List of Eligible Players

The New York Yankees dealt with their arbitration-eligible players in a timely fashion this year.

The team agreed to deals with every eligible player, including stars like Aaron Judge, James Paxton and Gary Sanchez, and avoided painful disputes over salaries for the 2020 season.

The Yankees have agreed to terms with RHP Luis Cessa, RHP Chad Green, RHP Jonathan Holder, OF Aaron Judge, RHP Tommy Kahnle, LHP Jordan Montgomery, LHP James Paxton, C Gary Sánchez and 3B Gio Urshela on one-year, non-guaranteed contracts, thus avoiding arbitration.
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) January 10, 2020

Relievers Luis Cessa, Chad Green, Jonathan Holder, Tommy Kahnle also agreed to one-year deals, as did southpaw Jordan Montgomery and third baseman Gio Urshela.

Sanchez' deal is particularly noteworthy in that it's the second-largest contract ever given to a catcher in his first year of arbitration eligibility.

Judge, meanwhile, is set to make $8.5 million next year, a lofty increase from the $684,300 he earned last season. In spite of nagging injuries, the hulking outfielder posted 4.6 fWAR for the Bronx Bombers in 2019 while finishing his third consecutive year with a wRC+ at or above 141.

Aaron Judge will earn $8.5 million in his one year deal per @Feinsand
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 10, 2020

Paxton's deal for the 2020 season is reportedly worth $12.5 million, a pay increase of roughly $4 million from 2019.

Fans should be pleased the organization managed to avoid arbitration with such critical players, putting an end to any further financial disputes.