TRENTON – The Thunder just got an A-Rod contract.

The Yankees and Trenton on Thursday signed an eight-year extension of their Player Development Contract, which will keep the Thunder as New York’s Double-A affiliate until the year 2022.

The teams’ current PDC runs through 2014.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was on hand for Thursday’s announcement, and used the opportunity to emphasize just how much his club has enjoyed and benefited from its tenure in Trenton, which began in 2003, when the Red Sox left the capital city for Portland.

“It says a lot when you sign an extension longer than one of your most important players,” Cashman said. “We gave CC (Sabathia) a seven-year deal. So I think it’s a statement in itself about how long we want to be here in Trenton.”

In their 10 seasons with the Yankees, the Thunder have put together a regular-season record of 754-656, reached the playoffs six times and won back-to-back Eastern League championships in 2007 and 2008.

Team president Joe Finley was also on hand, and he, too, expressed his gratitude that the organizations would be sticking together long into the future.

"We are both honored and humbled to remain part of the Yankee family for the next ten years," Finley said. "We are proud to be an integral part of the premier player development system in all of Major League Baseball and look forward to remaining in that role for many years to come."