Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge will earn $684,300 this season.

The Home Run Derby champion, based on the new deal the MLB and MLB Players Association reached, will receive $1 million.

Yet Judge, the 2017 champion who didn't want to defend his crown in 2018, doesn't think the money means he'll compete in it again.

"I'd consider it, but I'd probably still wait until it's back in New York," Judge said, according to the New York Post's Ken Davidoff.

Before the MLB and MLBPA reached a new deal Thursday that will see changes to the All-Star voting process and Home Run Derby payout, among other concepts, the winner received $150,000, runner-up $100,000 and other participants $75,000.

Beginning this year, the total prize pool will increase from $725,000 to $2.5 million. The winner will receive $1 million.

"That'll definitely entice a couple of more guys to definitely participate, that type of prize money, man," Judge told Davidoff. "Especially those of us on the league minimum. That would double our salary in one event. That would be pretty cool."

Judge won the 2017 Home Run Derby as a rookie but opted to sit out in 2018 despite being tied with the third-most home runs (25) heading into the All-Star break.

"I'm a Home Run Derby champion," Judge said last summer about his reasoning. "It was a cool experience. I enjoyed it all but I don't think I really need to go out there and do it again. I won it once."

Giancarlo Stanton, who won the 2016 Home Run Derby, lost to Gary Sanchez in the first round in 2017 and didn't compete in 2018, said he thinks the increased prize pool will probably get younger players who don't have as much service time as more experienced players to compete.

"I think it's good, because when I was a [younger player], there wasn't really an opportunity for us," Stanton told Davidoff. "They wanted the older guys to go. Now it doesn't matter who. You can just have a hot first half and they'll put you in it. So I think the setup is much better now, and this'll put some more icing on the cake."

HARPER: How rule changes will impact MLB going forward >> Read more

Popular in the Community