Former New York Yankees All-Star and World Series winner David Wells didn't hold back in his criticism of the players amid the team's struggles this 2023 season. Wells also took off some heat away from general manager Brian Cashman, noting that he isn't the one to blame for their poor run this campaign.

While defending Cashman and the Yankees' front office, Wells slammed the players for their poor play. He noted that players who are not performing up to the standard set for them should be sent down to the minors–no matter how much money they are making. That was how things were in the old days, and Wells firmly believes it should be brought back since athletes today are being “coddled” up and “babied” too much.

“It always seems that the GM, the managers and all of that are getting fired, and getting blamed for it, and it's the players' (fault). If you're not doing the job out on the field, and if I was a GM, I would start sending a message,” Wells explained, via Talkin' Yanks.

“I don't care who it was, if he was in the stink hole — pardon my French, if you can say that now. I don't know. But send that son of a gun to Triple A or Double A and send him a wake-up call. They did it to me. They did it to a lot of us back in the day. But you've got to send a message. I don't care how much money you're making. Send a message to them and let them go sit down there and think about it.”

Wells added that it's up to the players and their peers to make each other better. And if the players are not doing their jobs, there's nothing the GM or front office can do more about that.

David Wells does make some valid arguments. If poor performance isn't punished, it will have a negative effect on the team. The Yankees are a prime example of that. They have too much talent and entered the campaign with sky-high expectations. Unfortunately, they weren't able to live up to it as  mediocrity just trickled down throughout the roster. Players are not being held accountable, which is a recipe for disaster.

However, contrary to Wells' argument, Cashman isn't without faults. While he can't control what the players will do, it's his job to make the team better. The Yankees were already struggling at the trade deadline, but instead of changing things up, he decided to stick with the current roster.

The Yankees did take action, but at the end of the day, nothing was significant to move the needle for them. Cashman and co. let the poor performances slide and didn't do anything about it  when they had a chance. With that said, the front office is just equally to blame for the disastrous run of the team.

David Wells on Yankees' clubhouse, analytics

The former pitcher also went on to share his issue with the Yankees' club culture, as well as the use of analytics. He expressed his belief that focusing too much on analytics has ruined the game, especially since players are being denied the chance to grow their game and develop a unique playing style.

“I go into clubhouses, guys have their headphones on, they're hiding in the back room. If somebody walked into my clubhouse, the first thing I did is introduce myself, can I get a signed ball and how'd you get this guy out? I ask questions. And these guys don’t ask questions. This is analytics,” Wells added, via NJ.com.

“These guys don’t have free will to be themselves and try to find their own identity. They're having an identity brought to them. There's a game plan. Our game plan was go out there and win. How are we going to do it? Best nine guys are gonna play.”

It's hard to argue with Wells since he was known to perform at the highest level. He has two World Series titles to show for that, while the modern-day Yankees haven't won anything in the last  decade and half.

Wells will always be remembered for throwing a perfect game on May 17, 1998 against the Minnesota Twins. It's the second perfect game in Yankees history and just the 15th in league records at the time.

Of course baseball has changed since Wells' time and there's no denying that analytics has helped the game evolve since then. But to Wells' point, maybe the Yankees and the current era can learn a thing or two from days of old.