Aaron Judge Yankees
Aaron Judge Yankees Source: CNN

The New York Yankees should be happy with how they have done business this offseason. After the 2023 season, the team was in deep trouble. They had a pretty poor outfield. As a result, they had the second-worst batting average, only better than the Oakland Athletics. But their biggest concern was their offense. On top of that, there was a too much pressure on the captain as he’s the only superstar slugger the NY side had last season. Hence, there were several things the Bronx Bombers had to change this winter. They used their pitching resources to sign the best offensive player in the league, Juan Soto. And along came Trent Grisham, but Alex Verdugo joined the Yankees after the Boston Red Sox traded him to their arch-rivals. However, in the latter stages of the offseason, the team’s concern was rising on their bullpen and starter’s depth.

Later, the Yankees signed Marcus Stroman for a two-year deal worth $37 million. And they have been very close to signing a deal with the best-starting pitcher available, Blake Snell. But nothing has been confirmed yet. Anyway, the Bronx Bombers can always rely on Gerrit Cole, one of the best starters in baseball. Moreover, the Yankees will rely on Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole to display a great slugger-pitcher duo in 2024. Lately, AI produced results of comparison between the Judge-Cole duo and Justin Valender-Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros. 

   

Which One’s Better – Judge-Cole Or Valender-Alvarez?

Gerrit Cole Yankees
Gerrit Cole Yankees Source: CBS Sports

Gerrit Cole and Justin Valender are two of the very best starting pitchers in the league. Recently, a popular AI service called Google Bard, examined the impacts of the duos, Aaron Judge-Gerrit Cole and Justin Valender-Yordan Alvarez. Lately, the Houston Astros had been dominating the Yankees in their previous few meetings. As per Google Bard, the Bronx Bombers can’t get past the duo of Cole and Judge no matter what they do. It raises the value of the Yankees duo. But the turning point in the debate is the World Series run of the Astros duo in 2022. Both Alvarez and Verlander can thrive in high-pressure situations.

According to Sportskeeda, the Google Bard says that’s why the Astros duo have the edge. Moreover, the opposite game styles of Verlander and Alvarez gave them a bit more edge. At present, Justin Verlander is a more technical starter who focuses on pinpoint accuracy rather than tremendous velocity. However, Yordan Alvarez likes to crush everything into orbit rather than being a technical slugger. On the other hand, the Bard did acknowledge the greatness of Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole, calling them an undeniably “Fearsome pair.” Hence, it would be interesting to see how these duos perform in 2024.

Yankees Focusing On The Upcoming Spring Training And More

Yankees Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge Yankees Source: MLB Trade Rumors

The NY side will play their opening game against the Houston Astros. Then, the comparison will be out for display. However, if these players can avoid any injuries before the 2024 season starts, then the fans can see a matchup between Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander in their opening game.

But before they get to that stage, the Yankees have a lot to figure out. What will be the batting order like? If Juan Soto will come at third after Aaron Judge or vice versa. Also, how does the outfield look with Judge standing at center field. And if the Yankees can manage signing Blake Snell for a three-year deal worth $120 million.

Stay tuned with http://www.sportsnewsinternational.com/ for more such updates about your favorite MLB team.