 Jeff congratulations on a huge scoop. That's that's great stuff for you and we're happy to have you on Thank you boys. I'm looking forward to that four hundred thirty million dollar contract next time around I think ESPN's got me in my arbitration years right now I know that's tough, but that's the way the game was played now So I actually tweeted this out earlier and for some reason it's getting a lot of traction on Twitter But when I saw four hundred and thirty million a lot of people were like aghast and I said wow I can't believe him. I can't believe they got him for that price because I believe if he becomes a free agent He will be a free agent that people would bid on. I think they actually got a good deal the angels. What's your thoughts? I? Think the angels got a good deal, too And it's crazy to say because this is the most expensive deal in the history of professional sports But right also one that if you look at what my trout has produced to this point is a bargain and I know that's counterintuitive I know there's some cognitive dissonance involved there because how can four hundred thirty million dollars be a bargain But when you're putting up eight to ten win seasons every single year and a win above replacement is worth eight million dollars or so I mean the production that this guy is putting out there on an annual basis is unparalleled not just in present-day baseball But in baseball history, I mean Mike trout is off to the best start of any career through age 26 in Baseball history he's better than Babe Ruth. He's better than Mickey Mantle. He's better than Ty Cobb He's better than all of the luminaries who have been in the sport throughout its hundred fifty-year history What's so weird about it is we were talking about it earlier in the show that He just doesn't resonate like a sports star And I know that that really upset Rob Manfred back of the day felt that he should be more out there But how is it felt in Los Angeles? He's usually pretty passive about sports anyway, but how does he resonate that he puts puts fans in the seats? Did he put eyeballs to TVs or is he kind of felt out there the way he's felt out here where we know He's great, but not many people have gotten a chance to really see him You know, I think that's a very astute point and one that's understandable I also think that when it comes to Mike trout, he's just not the guy who puts him out He puts himself out there like that. That's not his style. That's not his personality It's not who he is and and it would be fighting against his reality Which has taken him this far and shown him this much success professionally and personally to try and be something that he's not And I think the angels are comfortable with that I think that they Understand and like Mike trout for what he is and yeah It would it be nice if he were the guy out there doing commercials all the time or the guy who had marketing campaigns built around him Of course it would but but they're not going to put the square peg in the round hole You know the the square hole is really nice right now and he fits right into it and their hope is that Shoei Otani can be that guy You know if he comes back from Tommy John surgery and pitches as well as we saw him last year all of a sudden We've got the best player in baseball and Mike trout and the most unique we've seen in a century in Otani It's interesting that what baseball has become because for a while everybody was fantasizing will wait till Nolan our and auto becomes a free agent wait till Mike trout becomes a free agent The next name is way till a mookie bets becomes a free agent, but baseball is adjusted now They're not letting these guys become free agents and the guys are smart enough to see that the free agent game is you know fraught with a Lot of things that could go wrong and they're being offered these big contracts, and they're taking them We might not see great free agents anymore Well, let's not forget though Michael in the last month man named shadow sign for three hundred million dollars and Bryce Harper sign for 330 million I free agency The issue with free agency for baseball players is a lot more for those mid and low mid tier guys Who aren't getting what they used to but the superstars are still going to get paid? So and I think what we've seen now is that the floor for a true star level player Like a guy who's going to put up six plus wins a season is a quarter billion dollars Nolan Aronato got 260 Machado 300 Harper 330 trout now 430 and if you look at the actual extension It's it's about 10 years and 365 million somewhere in that vicinity And so someone like say mookie bets or Francisco Lindor or Much more relevant to this program Aaron judge would seem to be in line for deals more along those lines Then something that would seem to be more below market So if you're the Yankees, do you address this sooner than later or do you just let it play out till he becomes a free agent? I mean if I'm the Yankees right now I do everything I can to lock up Aaron judge and I do that Honestly because of what happened with mookie bets this winter and it was a bit under the radar But mookie bets last year got ten and a half million dollars is the first time arbitration eligible player now arbitration history Has not shown, you know much bigger than six maybe seven million dollar raises mookie bets settled for $20 million this off season and next year with no one Aaron Otto settling at 26 million Bets is likely to get upward of 30 million if he puts up a season anywhere close to what he did last year So I think if I'm the Yankees, I see Aaron judge You know with his rookie of the year and with the high MVP finishes and with the home runs with all of those things that place So well in arbitration this is going to be a guy who's going to ask for, you know 11 12 million dollars potentially that first year and who could be in the 20 something million dollar range that second year and 30 million in the third year all of a sudden then he's a free agent and I think you do everything you can if your house sign writer and Brian Cashman to get him locked up as soon as possible And try and keep him in pinstripes as long as you can yeah But but the flip side of that though Jeff is because he went to college You know when he becomes a free agent he's gonna be 31 years old So the Yankees could say we'll pay him year to year as much as we have to arbitration, but why should we extend past 31? We don't know what type of player he's gonna be And that is a perfectly reasonable argument Michael. Here's my counter to that And this is the same thing I said with the angels and what they did with trout now granted They bought out trouts free agent years starting at 28 years old And so that's a lot different than what Aaron judge is going to be an Aaron judge is 26 years old already He's not gonna be a free agent till you said he's 30 years old That being said if I'm the Yankees I look at life with Aaron judge And I look at life without Aaron judge and life with Aaron judge looks a lot better than it does without Aaron judge Particularly when you've got the young core that you do in place Glabor Torres is gonna be around for you know six more years And and Miguel on do hard and he's a chance to be around for a while I mean they've got a really good core in place Aaron Hicks is gonna be around for another is Seven years seven. Yeah, seven. Yeah, seven years I mean you want to keep as much of that core in place as possible and beyond whatever Aaron judge brings on the field Michael You're in the clubhouse. You know this he is an a plus human being He's a leader of the team. He is he is in the Yankee clubhouse Absolutely loves him. I remember when he was a rookie Matt holiday a guy for whom I have a deep amount of respect And I've gotten to know throughout the years came up to me Unprompted and said Aaron judge is my favorite young player. I've ever been around and this is Like work with me here because this might sound a little weird, but you know Michael the way that clubhouses work and that Being the DJ in the clubhouse You know it confers some sense of Responsibility or respect from your teammates Aaron judge was the DJ for the Yankees as a rookie and I have never seen that before Somebody who is able to walk into a clubhouse like that and immediately in gender the level of respect that he did So when the Yankees are trying to lock up Aaron judge It's not just because he's gonna launch these majestic home runs because they believe in him as much as a person as they do as a player Great stuff Jeff. Great job today with the scoop. We thank you for coming on. I know you're crazy busy Pleasure is always mine boys. Thanks for having me