Alex Rodriguez on the New York Yankees re-signing Aaron Judge

Alex Rodriguez believes that the New York Yankees could have handled the Aaron Judge situation quite differently. He has a ton of experience in signing big-time contracts. A-Rod signed a 10-year, $252 million deal with the Rangers, only to opt-out and sign a 10-year, $275 million deal with the Yankees.

Rodriguez believes the team could have gone a completely different route with Aaron Judge. He thinks it's surprising that the team waited this long to come to an agreement on a player they knew would have an impact on the team.

"If they could have a mulligan, they would sign him when he was 25, get him to 35 and call it a day. They backed themsevles into a corner," Alex Rodriguez said.

It was apparent that New York had to do whatever they could to bring back Judge. Losing him would have been catastrophic for the organization.

Alex Rodriguez stated that the team knew what they had with Aaron Judge early in his career. They should have taken the route of the Atlanta Braves and signed him early into his career. This way, they would have avoided paying the premium that they did.

The Braves have been great at getting ahead of their young talent. Last season, they signed rookies Michael Harris II and Spencer Strider to big-time contracts. Both players debuted for Atlanta last season and made a huge impact on the team.

Alex Rodriguez would love for the Yankees to operate like the Braves. It would have saved them a lot of money this off-season. They could have used that money to bring in key players and built around Judge.

Alex Rodriguez says Aaron Judge taught a "masterclass" on negotiations

New York Yankees v Texas Rangers - Game Two

This season could not have gone any better for Aaron Judge. He couldn't have played any better during the final year of his contract. Judge went out and left no doubt about how impactful of a baseball player he is.

Alex Rodriguez was especially impressed with how the reigning AL MVP handled everything. The lights were never too bright for him, even as the whole world watched his every at-bat as he broke the single-season home run record.

He's a world-class player, and the Yankees are lucky to have him. He has elite talent, especially at the plate, and he's the embodiment of a role model.

It will be interesting to see how well Aaron Judge plays next season now that he doesn't have to worry about a contract.