David Wells’ opinion of the Yankees hasn’t changed since Old-Timers’ Day.
Five weeks after blasting their underperforming players and sparing general manager Brian Cashman from any blame, the former pitcher doubled down on most of his claims — while also saying their 82-80 season wasn’t manager Aaron Boone’s fault, either, and dishing out an analytics take that players are too “scripted.”
“Everyone’s blaming Cashman, they’re blaming Aaron Boone,” Wells said during an appearance on “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich.” “… So to me, it’s a matter of if the players don’t produce, send them a message, and I don’t care how much money they’re making. Send them down, and let them sit in the minor leagues for a bit.
“Yeah, they got guaranteed contracts, but they’re not getting the publicity that they want in a big-league stadium. Go to a minor-league stadium. It’s not fun when you’re in the big leagues and you go back down, because it’s humiliating when you get sent down. But do your job, and that’s what they gotta do.”
Wells used a significantly milder tone in his interview with Dakich than he did at Yankee Stadium last month, when he used “if he’s in the stink hole … send that son of a gun to Triple-A or Double-A” to describe what he thought the Yankees’ approach should be for struggling stars.
That day, as generations of past Yankees stars converged for the annual ceremony, Wells, who pitched for the Yankees for four years across two stints and threw a perfect game in 1998, criticized “woke” brands Bud Light and Nike — and he stuck a piece of tape over the Nike logo on his jersey.
His frustration with the Yankees stemmed from what ended up being their first postseason absence since 2016, but the performances of struggling veterans such as Giancarlo Stanton, Carlos Rodon, DJ LeMahieu and ex-Yankees — and current Brewers — infielder Josh Donaldson clearly irked Wells, too.
He analogized signing and trading for players to Forrest Gump’s line in the movie about life being like “a box of chocolates.”
“You never know what you’re gonna get,” Wells said. “So that’s the same thing with athletes. You don’t know what you’re gonna get. A guy might get hurt, and that’s what it is.
“And now, all of a sudden, the organization, the GM, the manager, they get the heat for it and then usually they end up getting fired. It’s the players. The players need to go out and step up, and they have to recognize that.”
While Wells’ minor-league theory might be flawed, with teams needing agreement from players to go to the minors based on service time, the Yankees do have pressing decisions to make with those veterans — especially Stanton, who is still due $98 million from the Yankees and blended together injuries with ineffective plate appearances in 2023.