Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees star slugger, received his first AL-MVP award this year owing to exceptional numbers in 2022. The star outfielder clearly unleashed carnage last season with ridiculous all-time league-high numbers. He scripted history by hitting record 62 home runs in 157 games, along with 133 runs scored and 131 RBIs in total. Despite failing to win the World Series title, Judge emerged as the player of the league and took home his first-ever America League MVP award.
Now, with the 2023 season approaching, talks over this season’s projections have been going around for a while. As for Aaron Judge, he is unlikely to hit 62 home runs for the second consecutive time. All the projections predict a home run number below 50 for the slugger. If the predictions were to be true, the outfielder would fall behind the 2023 MVP race.
Yankees Podcasters Rank Aaron Judge Third In The 2023 MVP Standings
The American League MVP race is likely to heat up as the 2023 MLB season due to the induction of fierce competitors. Moreover, one hot topic among the Yankee’s podcasters is the chances of Aaron Judge taking home the coveted award for the second time in a row. While Judge has been a dominant force in the Yankees lineup over the past few years, there are some who believe he may not be the front-runner for MVP this season owing to solid competition from the Angels’ key starters.
Podcasters of Talkin Yanks believe Aaron Judge will be highly challenged by Angels’ Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout this season in the MVP race. The speaker explained, saying repeating a 62-homer season is next to impossible even for a beast like Judge. On top of that, Trout and Ohtani are likely to come out with all guns blazing for the prestigious title. Hence, they expect the slugger to rank third in the final overall MVP award list. While Judge may not eventually be the front-runner for MVP this year, he is still a key player for the Yankees and will play a critical role in their success for years to come.
Yankees Podcasters Call For Trade To Clear Infield Logjam
Meanwhile, further speaking on the podcast, the speakers weighed in on the New York Yankees squad for this year. They reckoned Aaron Judge and Carlos Rodon as the best sign-ins of the 2023 off-season. Further, the speakers addressed the issue of the excessive crowd in the infield. They pointed out the Yanks have 8 infielders in a ratio to one outfielder. Hence, the front office must seek a trade to bring in more clarity.
Further calling the organization’s situation a mess, the speakers called for Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s trade. Trading Isiah would infuse much-needed cash flow to the payroll, which could be used to go after pitchers in the free-agent trade market. Lastly, the podcasters acknowledged the hype of new prospects, Oswald Peraza, Anthony Volpe, and Oswaldo Cabrera, and referred to them as future stars.