Judge headlines arbitration-eligible Yankees

January 9th, 2020

NEW YORK -- is among the Yankees players who appear to be in line for significant raises this season, with arbitration-eligible players and their clubs set to exchange salary figures prior to Friday’s 1 p.m. ET deadline.

Nine Yankees are eligible for arbitration this year, including left-hander , who is eligible for free agency after the season.

Others include right-hander (first year), righty (first year), righty (first year), righty (third year), left-hander (first year), catcher (first year) and third baseman (first year).

Judge could cash in after providing the Yankees with three seasons of significant value for relatively small salaries. The slugging outfielder turns 28 in April and earned $684,300 last season, when he batted .272 with 27 home runs, 55 RBIs and a .921 OPS (143 OPS+) in 102 games.

MLB Trade Rumors’ model projects Judge’s 2020 salary at $6.4 million. A different model utilized by Cot’s Baseball Contracts projects Judge slightly lower, at $5.9 million.

Paxton earned $8.575 million during his first season in New York, when he was 15-6 with a 3.82 ERA (116 ERA+) in 29 starts. MLBTR projects the 31-year-old at $12.9 million, with Cot’s at $12.25 million.

Sánchez was paid $669,800 for his 2019 campaign, when the 27-year-old was selected for his second American League All-Star team after batting .232 with 34 homers (tops among big league catchers) and 77 RBIs in 106 games, with an .841 OPS (119 OPS+). MLBTR sees Sánchez at $5.6 million, with Cot’s at $4.75 million.

Cessa ($578,975 in 2019), Green ($598,650 in ‘19), Holder ($580,300 in ‘19), Kahnle ($1.387 million in ‘19), Montgomery ($596,600 in ‘19) and Urshela ($555,000 in ‘19) will also be seeking pay bumps.

Players who have three or more years of Major League service, but less than six years of Major League service, become eligible for salary arbitration if they do not already have a contract for the next season.

If the club and player have not agreed on a salary, the club and player must exchange salary figures for the upcoming season. After the figures are exchanged, a hearing is scheduled for February. If no settlement can be reached by the hearing date, the case is brought before a panel of arbitrators.

The Yankees have not been to an arbitration hearing since 2017, when they defeated right-hander Dellin Betances in a battle over $2 million. Last January, the Yanks avoided arbitration by agreeing to terms with eight of their nine eligible players on Jan. 11, then inked righty Luis Severino to a four-year, $40 million extension in February.