Aaron Judge says he is looking forward to arbitration hearing with New York Yankees

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Aaron Judge intends to just «wear a nice suit» and «introduce myself and sit back» as a three-person arbitration panel debates whether the New York Yankees should pay their All-Star outfielder the $21 million salary he believes he is worth this season.

The hearing will be held Friday, sources told ESPN's Buster Olney.

«I'm looking forward to it,» Judge said Tuesday afternoon ahead of the Yankees' game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field, although he did not confirm the day. «I've had people in my agency, past players, that went through the process, said they hated it. And then other people that went through it said it was actually kind of good to hear about [yourself].»

The last Yankees player to go to arbitration was reliever Dellin Betances in 2017, Judge's record-setting Rookie of the Year season. An arbitration panel ruled in the club's favor, and Betances was open with his teammates about the hostility that transpired in the hearing room.

"[Betances] just didn't like how the process went.… He gave a lot to this organization, the numbers he put up for quite a few years, even though he wasn't a closer, he did a lot of special things and maybe thought he should get reciprocated for that but it didn't happen," Judge said. «It's probably tough, but for me it's plain and simple. I love this team, I love this organization and everything, but there's a business side of it that I don't like at times, I don't think a lot of people like, I don't think the team likes it [either] that you have to go through and then you move on.»

Manager Aaron Boone praised how Judge has handled himself through the process, which has not affected his popularity or performance. Earlier Tuesday, MLB announced the