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TAMPA — Aaron Judge insisted Saturday that the looming contract talks surrounding him this spring would not distract him from his work on the field.
On Sunday, the Yankees outfielder proved it with his bat.
Judge went 3-for-3 with a pair of loud home runs in the Yankees’ 7-4 Grapefruit League win over the Pirates at Steinbrenner Field.
“Pretty good,” manager Aaron Boone said with a grin. “I think as a hitter of his stature it’s not always about results necessarily. But as a hitter, it’s always good to get them.”
Judge, who had two hits in 11 at-bats entering Sunday, crushed his first home run of the spring in the third inning, a moonshot that cleared the batter’s eye in center field.
“It looked like he barely swung the bat, too,” said Jordan Montgomery, who was warming up in the Yankees bullpen when Judge hit the Jose Quintana fastball an estimated 407 feet. “It’s a scary thing when it goes that far.”
The second home run was more of a line drive that Judge took the other way, drilling it 114.5 mph off the bat and over the wall in right-center field.
“I was telling [third base coach Luis Rojas], that ball he hits out to right-center, I’m rounding first and that right fielder’s cutting that ball off as it’s bouncing, hoping I’m getting it to the gap,” Boone said. “It’s just, it’s different, man. But good to see him have some good at-bats.”
Judge was playing his third straight game as he continued to ramp up for the regular season in the condensed spring training schedule, but looked no worse for wear.
The uncertainty surrounding Judge’s contract doesn’t appear to be bothering him, either. General manager Brian Cashman said Saturday that the Yankees will make Judge an extension offer before Opening Day, giving the two sides less than two weeks to agree to a deal — though Judge slightly backed off his deadline of April 7 on Saturday.
If a deal does not get done, the Yankees and Judge could also have to go to a potentially contentious arbitration hearing during the season. But so far, Judge has tried to keep his focus on the field.
“I know Aaron,” Boone said. “I know what a competitor he is, the kind of teammate he is. So I think whatever goes on there, he’ll deal with it, handle it and be the guy we know.”
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