Yankees should buyout Aaron Judge’s pre-arbitration years

The Yankees use a sliding scale to determine the salaries of their pre-arbitration players. Hence, Aaron Judge’s 52 home runs are only worth $622,300 for the 2018 season.

To you, me and the mailman, $622K is enough money for a very long time. But for the reigning American League Rookie of the Year and MVP runner-up, it feels a little low. Regardless, that’s what the Yankees and Judge agreed to on Tuesday, as the 25-year-old looks to cement his claim as one of the games best power hitters.

Judge doesn’t become eligible for salary arbitration until the end of the 2019 season, which means he’ll be playing under his rookie contract that grants very little negotiating power while allowing the organization a bargain bonanza.

This is the way young; upstart clubs get formed. Much like the Cubs, Indians and Astros, high draft picks and international free agents that evolve in uber prospects and potential All-Stars do not see an increase in their salaries until three years of big league service time have been accumulated, per the terms of MLB’s collective bargaining agreement.

The extended duration of affordable deals is the reason the Yankees currently have a Cy Young caliber pitcher in Luis Severino making $604,975, an All-Star catcher in Gary Sanchez pulling down $620,400 — Greg Bird at $582K and Jordan Montgomery’s $580,450.

Without the CBA, there’s no way the Yanks would stand a chance of falling below the $197 million luxury tax threshold this season. Not with Giancarlo Stanton’s $25 million AAV, Masahiro Tanaka’s $22 million AAV, Jacoby Ellsbury’s $21.1 million AAV and Aroldis Chapman’s $15 million AAV.

The Yanks are definitely in the driver’s seat when it comes to maintaining payroll, especially with 2019’s premier crop of potential free agents.

Having not finished a season since 2004 with a payroll under $200 million, the Yankees currently have the seventh-highest payroll in all of MLB at $162,490,757.

So the next time someone tells you that the Bombers still “buy” their winning teams, point out the fact that the Red Sox are spending an MLB high $229,761,428 — the Dodgers are third at $178,612,378 and even the Cubs are now fifth at $174,131,881.

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Obviously, the Yanks’ low-ball salaries can’t stay that way forever. Over the next three years, Didi Gregorius, Sonny Gray, Dellin Betances, Adam Warren, Aaron Hicks and Tommy Kahnle will all have eclipsed their arbitration seasons.

Each will be looking for long-term multi-million dollar contracts. In turn, the organization will hope to balance their salaries with another slew of arbitration players like Judge, Sanchez, Severino, Bird, Miguel Andujar, Brandon Drury, Clint Frazier, Chad Green and so on.

Tough decisions will need to be made once the Baby Bombers are no longer underpaid. Which is why the organization should consider buying out the arbitration years of Judge and company before another Dellin Betances, Randy Levine situation arises.

Much like the Cardinals just did with 24-year-old shortstop Paul DeJong, by agreeing to a six-year, $26 million contract following his rookie year, and the Twins are contemplating with center fielder Byron Buxton, who won’t enter arbitration until 2021, these long-term contracts lock up a young player through their arbitration seasons.

Regardless of how good, bad or indifferent the player produces, his salary is set. Yes, it’s a gamble, but that’s what running the front office of a professional sports franchise is. You either pay now or pay later. However, if you wait, I guarantee the cost will be considerably more, especially in the case of Judge, Sanchez and Severino.

Take a look at what the Angels gave Mike Trout back in 2014. Trout, 22 at the time, agreed to a six-year, $144.5 million team-friendly contract extension that covered his arbitration years and three additional seasons worth of free agency.

For arguably the best player in the game, the Angels secured Trout for $24.1 AAV, when according to Cliff Corcoran of SI.com, Trout should have been worth upwards of $320 million in total with inflation, had the Halo’s not extended him when they did.

Of course, Trout can still hit free agency while in the prime of his career, but it’s not like the Angels haven’t had the opportunity to surround Trout with a winning ball club.

All in all, if the Yankees choose to go hog-wild during the 2019 free agency period and blow the luxury tax threshold out of the water, much like the Red Sox already are, then so be it.

Next: What Neil Walker means to the 25-man roster?

The point is that the organization has shifted its philosophy on spending by keeping one eye on the future.

If the powers that be fail to consider locking up some of their best young players from now until ’19, the costs become far more prohibitive in the not so distant future. And no one wants to see Aaron Judge in any uniform besides a Yankee uni.