Yankees president calls Aaron Judge 'an all-time Yankee' amid contract uncertainty

New York Yankees All-Star slugger Aaron Judge rejected a seven-year, $213.5 million contract extension offered by the club before the start of the season and has since gone on to become a favorite to earn Most Valuable Player honors before he can hit free agency following the campaign. 

Ahead of this year's All-Star Game, Judge remarked that he "wants to be a Yankee for life" and also said that both sides "want to come to an agreement." It seems that team president Randy Levine feels the same way. 

According to an ESPN piece, Levine offered high praise for the four-time All-Star during a recent appearance on "The Show" podcast.

"We think Aaron Judge is an all-time Yankee," Levine explained. "We think he's a great player, beyond a great player. We think he's a great person. That's why we offered him the highest position player contract in the history of the Yankees.

"I admire him that he went out and took this upon his shoulders and we'll sit down with him and hopefully figure it out. I think there's no question we want him back and no question we value him."

Per ESPN stats, Judge began Wednesday leading all of MLB with 54 home runs, 117 RBI and a 1.085 OPS. Meanwhile, the 81-54 Yankees hold a four-and-a-half game lead over the second-place Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East standings. 

Levine made it clear during the interview that the Yankees want to retain Judge past what could be a historic season if he breaks Roger Maris' AL home run record of 61 that Maris set in 1961. 

"What we'll talk about with him and his representatives in the offseason is, 'How do we keep him?' And then it will be up to him to see, does he want to stay here [or] does he want to go someplace else? Is somebody offering him a better deal?" Levine added about Judge.