Yankees pundit unleashes criticism on Aaron Judge over alleged front office meddling

One of the finest hitters inf the major leagues, Aaron Judge, a two-time AL MVP award winner, is much-loved among the New York Yankees faithful.

However, the 33-year-old was called out by Yankees pundit Brian McKeon in Thursday's episode of Locked on Yankees for allegedly meddling into affairs that should be handled by the front office.

"(Reports have emerged that) The Yankees were apparently planning on DFA'ing DJ LeMahieu at the end of last year, and Aaron Judge put an axe to it. If that's the case, that's a major problem. Aaron Judge is the captain of this team, and one of the best hitters in the generation, (but) he's not the general manager," McKeon said.

"I know Aaron Judge wants to believe in his teammates, but he's believing in guys that are his buddies, that aren't contributing to the team. The guys he's supporting to keep on the roster are nothings in the the lineup. DJ LeMahieu can't move in the field, isn't a great hitter anymore. I get wanting to be everyone's best friend, but you also want to win a World Series."

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MLB insider talks about how Aaron Judge's influence on games has decreased

With most of the Yankees batting order struggling this year, superstar Aaron Judge's influence at the plate has also decreased, according to MLB insider Brandon Tierney.

Speaking via WFAN on Tuesday, Tierney talked about how shortcomings at the plate has led to teams taking the easy way out by intentionally walking Aaron Judge whenever he comes up to bat.

Judge has already been walked 20 times, matching his total for the entirety of the 2024 campaign.

"The Yankees' biggest issue right now — until they make a trade, and they need to make a trade at some point — is they’ve got to figure out how to protect Aaron Judge," Tierney said.

"I mean, this is now happening at a very different pace than in the past. Judge has been intentionally walked 20 times this year. Last year? 20 the entire season."

Tierney explained how the only way the Yankees can sort it out is to hope that the rest of the lineup gets up to speed soon.

"To me, there’s only one solution," Tierney added. "You can throw out the names — Stanton, Jazz (who’s been on a great roll). … I’m not looking to mess with Jazz, and it’s definitely not Stanton at this point. I think the only way the Yankees can work around this is put Judge in the 2-spot and hope that Bellinger is in the early stages of heating up."

Due to their inconsistent hitting, Judge and Co. are in danger of surrendering the AL East top spot to the Toronto Blue Jays.