New York Yankees fail to reach a deal with three-time All-Star, may lead to arbitration hearings during 2022 MLB season

Arbitration Day is looming and has put the New York Yankees in a very uncomfortable spot with their star Aaron Judge as they negotiate a new payment structure. The two sides came in about four million dollars apart, with Aaron Judge asking for $21 million and the New York Yankees offering $17 million to the star outfielder. While this is a relatively large gap between the two sides, the cause of the gap is far more prevalent.

Aaron Judge is reportedly unvaccinated against Covid-19, which would preclude him from playing games in Canada against division rival Toronto Blue Jays and from playing games in the state of New York. Unfortunately for Judge, the Yankees play home games in New York, meaning Judge would miss approximately 55% of all games in 2022. This obviously makes the path to a long-term contract trickier to navigate.

Jon Heyman of the MLB Network was the first to report the gap in expected pay for Aaron Judge on Twitter.

"Aaron Judge filed at $21M, Yankees at $17M" - @ Jon Heyman

New York Yankees risk arbitration with Aaron Judge

Yankees might miss Aaron Judge in 2022

Aaron Judge has been one of the best players in the Yankees lineup since his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2017, but that is in jepordy now. Simply by going to arbitration with Judge, the New York Yankees risk disrespecting their star player. If they aren't able to reach an agreement, they risk damaging their professional relationship.

While Aaron judge has every right to refuse the vaccine, he will have to face the repercussions that come along with it, and in the state of New York, that means not being able to play his sport. Unless we see changes in state mandates, Judge's decision will have long-term implications for himself and his team.

As reported by NJ Sports on Twitter, Aaron Judge sidestepped questions about his vaccination status.

"Yankees’ Aaron Judge side-steps question about his COVID vaccination status as NYC takes stand" - @ NJ.com Sports

The New York Yankees have never hesitated in the past to pay their players the big bucks when the time comes around, but how much can you really pay a player who will miss as much time as he will as things currently stand? Watching the standoff between the New York Yankees and Aaron Judge around his contract could have effects that permeate throughout 2022 and beyond.