Yankees' Aaron Judge reveals how long he'd like to continue playing career

Aaron Judge will be 39 years old when the nine-year, $360M deal he signed en route to becoming captain of the New York Yankees in December 2022 expires. 

In an article by The Athletic's Ian O'Connor published on Friday, Judge revealed that he'd like to continue playing into his 40s. 

"That’s the plan," Judge said. "When I signed this deal, one of the things I promised was that I wanted to come in and be a contributor all the way to the end of that contract. So hopefully we’ll continue that." 

Judge battled through notable injuries from 2018-2020 but later earned American League Most Valuable Player Award honors for the 2022 season. One can only guess what could've been for Judge and the 2023 Yankees had he not missed time due to the torn ligament in his big right toe that he suffered when he crashed through the Dodger Stadium right-field fence in June of that year. He then won the AL MVP Award for a second time as he helped the 2024 Yankees reach the World Series. 

Judge appeared in 96 games over the first half of the 2025 campaign and, per Baseball Reference, began the break leading the league in numerous offensive categories. According to Baseball Savant, he entered Friday responsible for an MLB-best .467 expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA) for the season.

As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Judge as the overall betting favorite at -650 odds to claim the AL MVP Award for the third time in his career in 2025. He has shown no signs of slowing down at the age of 33, and per MLB.com, Judge (350) is just 11 home runs shy of tying Joe DiMaggio (361) for fourth on the all-time Yankees home run list. To get there, Judge will pass Alex Rodriguez (351) and Yogi Berra (358). 

"That’s a special trio right there," Judge acknowledged. "It’s kind of crazy to judge a career against somebody who did it for 20 years and had such a great career, so maybe when I’m done playing, I can look back and see the things that I’ve done. Any sentence with those three guys is special. I’m aware of a lot of Yankee history. I definitely pay attention to it, especially being in this organization and what we are built on. It’s about a lot of great pasts that we’ve had and also what’s to come."

Judge realizes he will soon be chasing baseball legends Lou Gehrig (493), Mickey Mantle (536) and Babe Ruth (659) for Yankees home-run records. If Judge truly plays into his 40s, he could potentially reach at least 660 career homers. 

"It’s tough, though," Judge explained. "I’ve got to be hitting 50 homers all the way into my early 40s. I don’t know. It would be something good to strive for. I never really thought about it, to be honest. I just try to go out there to do my job." 

San Diego Padres infielder and Judge's former teammate Tyler Wade recently referred to Judge as "the best right-handed hitter of our generation." Judge could replace somebody on the Yankees' Mount Rushmore of all-time greats if he plays into his 40s and adds at least one World Series championship to his career resume.