The New York Yankees are facing criticism from many quarters, but one that may worry the franchise the most is a coach who supports Aaron Judge, their top player.

In response to an X post on Thursday, Richard Schenck—a private hitting coach who counts Judge among his clients—criticized New York’s offensive player development in the midst of a 17-game losing streak.

One day later, in an interview with reporters, Yankees manager Aaron Boone addressed Schenk’s critique, effectively brushing it off.

From Bryan Hoch of MLB.com:

Boone asserted, “People will say things, and everyone is entitled to their opinion.” “People are going to take shots and stuff like that, especially when you wear this outfit and go through a difficult time.

“You can’t become overly fixated on all of that stuff. Making sure we’re presentable and put our best foot forward every day is enough to worry about. It is the main focus, then.

Judge answered as well, stating that he sees Schenck once every two weeks. In response to his organization’s criticism, he chose not to comment. Additionally through Hoch:

Judge stated, “To be honest, I’m not involved in it.” It’s a remark from another person. I will not speak for anyone else when I comment. .. I have no influence on the actions of others. I have no control over it. Nothing I can do for you.

The Yankees should be uneasy because Schenck makes a valid case.

Despite their decline, the Yankees were 54-35 going into Friday and have a good chance of making the postseason, if they can start playing good baseball again. Their lineup features two generational players in Judge and Juan Soto, and they rank fourth in innings pitched and sixth in ERA among MLB rotations. These factors account for the majority of their success.

Those two sluggers are serious contenders for MVP. But the rest of their lineup is quite thin.

OPS+ is a statistic that determines how a player’s OPS stacks up against the league average after taking their playing grounds and era into consideration. A player with an OPS+ of 100 is considered league average; a player with an OPS+ of 125 is 25% above average; and a player with a 75 is 25% below average.

This is the complete list of batters with more than 50 plate appearances and an OPS+ of 100 or higher on the Yankees’ active roster: Judge Aaron and Juan Soto.

Every other player is below average for the league. Alex Verdugo, who is now slashing.248/.305/.398 with an OPS+ of 97, is the next top player. Giancarlo Stanton (120 OPS+) would be beneficial, but his hamstring strain keeps him on the injured list.

Thus, Schenck’s client and an established star that New York paid a premium to acquire drive the Yankees’ offense nearly entirely. Schenck probably had the option to be much more severe.

Before the Yankees’ home series against the Blue Jays, they activate a new reliever.

Enyel De Los Santos was activated for tonight’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, the New York Yankees announced today. The right-hander, who will wear number 62, was acquired from the San Diego Padres in a trade that was completed in the closing moments before the trade deadline. The Yankees are trying to bring out more potential in this hard-throwing right-hander, who has battled to the tune of a 4.46 ERA. Although his strikeout percentage of 28.2% is good and offers some upside, it also comes with an extremely high HR/9 rate of 2.45.

The New York Yankees are tied for first place with the Baltimore Orioles after a thrilling three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies. They will be hoping to extend their winning streak to five games into August.

Prior to the Yankees’ homestand, Enyel De Los Santos was activated.

Enyel De Los Santos was a vital member of the Cleveland Guardians’ potent bullpen in 2022–2023, pitching 119 innings with a 3.18 ERA and 123 strikeouts. Scott Barlow was traded to the San Diego Padres in exchange for him; considering how effectively Barlow has pitched for the top-seeded Guardians, AJ Preller regrets the trade. Due to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ dismal play, San Diego is now able to compete in the NL West, and among their recent wave of arrivals, which included Tanner Scott, Enyel De Los Santos was cut off the roster.

The 28-year-old’s season-long struggles made it impossible for San Diego to maintain him on their roster, but since the Yankees are in dire need of arms right now, they are willing to take a chance on him. He was acquired by the Yankees via the trade of Triple-A outfielder Brandon Lockridge, who possesses an 80-grade speed talent but hasn’t shown particularly great bat-related stats during his stint with the team. The Yankees made De Los Santos their last trade before the deadline passed, and it might be a very wise addition.

The Yankees have a proven track record of developing relievers; in three consecutive deadline acquisitions, they have added a reliever with a middling ERA that they have promptly improved.

Prior to being acquired by the Yankees in 2021 along with Joey Gallo, Joely Rodriguez had a 5.93 ERA with the Texas Rangers. As one of their greatest lefties, he finished the season with a 2.84 ERA. Everyone recalls how, at the same deadline, they also got Clay Holmes for nothing and turned him into one of the best relievers in the American League. In the ill-fated Frankie Montas deal, Lou Trivino had an ugly 6.47 ERA before finishing with a 1.66 ERA, and in 2023, Keynan Middleton had a 3.96 ERA before coming to the Yankees and dominating with a 1.88 ERA.

A number of arms have appeared out of nowhere to contribute value for Matt Blake and Sam Briend; Jake Cousins, Tim Hill, Luke Weaver, and Michael Tonkin have combined for a 2.77 ERA in 139.2 innings. Enyel De Los Santos has the potential to be a magical player for the Yankees once more, but his home run issues are a serious worry that are difficult to address. With approximately two months left in the season, the Yankees will need to determine if it’s stuff, sequencing, command, or a combination of all three.

Fortunately, Enyel De Los Santos has arms like Ian Hamilton on the way back, who might take his place if he doesn’t turn it around. There is a lot of potential, and it will be up to the pitcher and the team to figure out how to duplicate the success he enjoyed with Cleveland the previous season.