Yankees legend calls for lineup shakeup before Game 3

After the season that New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge has had, it's hard to imagine moving him out of third place in the lineup.

But that's exactly what Yankees legend Alex Rodriguez called for on Fox Sports on SaturdayPostgame segment. After Judge went 0-for-4 with three more strikeouts in Game 2, A-Rod made it clear that he would like to see a shakeup at the Yankees' top spot.

“One thing I would do is make a subtle move for the Yankees and maybe trade (Juan) Soto and Judge. Try to get Judge activated and energized a little bit,” Rodriguez said.

The move would knock Judge out of third place in the rankings for the first time this season and move him to the No. 2 hole alongside Juan Soto. This would also allow Judge to be “protected” by Soto and Giancarlo Stanton. While Judge has struggled so far in the playoffs, Soto and Stanton have combined for 10 home runs, 24 RBI and 60 total bases.

“You're desperate for runs, you're desperate to get the big man activated,” Rodriguez said of Judge. “The bottom line is, folks, it’s getting late early. If Judge doesn't start, it will be a short series.”

In 40 at-bats in the postseason, Judge has compiled just a .150/.280/.325 slash line with two home runs. He also scored a team-best 19 times. Judges' problems in the playoffs are nothing new. After his historic MVP season in 2022, Judge only managed a .139 batting average in nine playoff games. In 2020, Judge hit an abysmal .133 in seven playoff games.

As the series moves back to the Bronx, the Yankees, trailing 0-2 against the Dodgers, will be looking for anything that can add a spark to their offense. The team only managed one hit in Game 2 against starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but he didn't get his second until the start of the ninth inning.

As of Sunday, there was no indication from Yankees manager Aaron Boone about a possible change in the order.