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TAMPA — Aaron Judge wants to stay a Yankee and Brian Cashman said he wants to keep the right fielder in The Bronx.
But Cashman said Monday the two sides haven’t begun talking about an extension with Judge about to enter his final year before free agency.
“Our hope would be that we’d like to have him back if we can,’’ Cashman said Monday, as the Yankees had their first official workout of the spring. “Just like trades and free agents, you have to be on the same page and [have] common ground. The only way to find that out is to have conversations first and foremost. Those will happen. … But we’re happy he’s a Yankee and it’d be great if we could make him a Yankee for longer than just this year.”
Cashman noted he’d be willing to continue talking with Judge’s camp into free agency, if it gets that far, but he declined to say when negotiations might begin between the two sides.
For his part, Judge has said he wants to be “a Yankee for life,” but has also added that nothing is guaranteed.
The Yankees already have Giancarlo Stanton under contract until 2027 and both sluggers have had injury problems.
“We have not engaged yet, but certainly we’re on the clock with that,’’ Cashman said of Judge’s status. “Generally, [players] prefer to get it done before the season so they don’t have to think about it. But that’s what agents are for at the same time. … I guess stay tuned.”
The Yankees added a new catcher, Ben Rortvedt, on Sunday, to team with Kyle Higashioka, but that doesn’t mean Cashman isn’t still looking at the position.
“We know Kyle,” Cashman said. “He’s put himself in a good position. But at the same time, we welcome any competition and newcomers to try to push their way into the mix. At the very least, going into this as of this particular day, the tandem of [Higashioka] and Ben, our expectation would be that those guys combined up and [Aaron Boone] and his staff will determine who to go with and when and why. But my job always is to continue to find ways to improve the roster. As of [Monday], this is the best version of that roster and I’m not closing my mind to future opportunities if they present themselves.”
Neither has proven he can start in the majors. Asked if there would be a platoon between the lefty-hitting Rortvedt and righty-swinging Higashioka, Boone said it would play itself out.
Domingo German, who dealt with shoulder and back issues last season, had some of that occur again in January when he was throwing on his own during the MLB lockout, according to Boone, putting the right-hander “a little behind.”
He’s begun a throwing program. Asked if German’s health scare might have been impacted by not being able to communicate with the team during the work stoppage, Boone said, “Probably a little bit. It’s hard for me to know that for sure, but it probably didn’t help.”
Boone added Jameson Taillon, coming off offseason ankle surgery, could be ready for Opening Day.
After Boone noted the concern the team had over the possibility it might be without some key players when the Yankees play in Toronto due to Canada’s COVID protocols regarding unvaccinated people, Cashman added Monday that the organization will “ultimately have the conversations with people involved and then respect their ultimate decisions in the end. We’ll be going to Toronto with what we go with and we’ll have to deal with it.”
When asked if any of the players that were unvaccinated a year ago had since been vaccinated, Cashman said there had been, but didn’t say how many or who.
“Certainly our hope is to have everyone vaccinated but it’s also something — I assume the basic agreement stays silent on that and still becomes a personal choice for people,’’ Cashman said. “At the end of the day, you just have the conversation, or two or three, and then you have to respect people’s ultimate decision.”
Zack Britton said he’s a little over a month into his throwing program after last year’s UCL surgery and making “good progress.” He still hopes to pitch at some point late this season.
“When I had the surgery, there was definitely a possibility to be pitching with the team this year,’’ Britton said. “If everything goes as planned, hopefully that’s in the cards for me.”
— Additional reporting by Greg Joyce
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