Luis Severino’s comment on state of Yankees should be wake-up call for Brian Cashman

One year after their spending spree, the New York Mets took a more cautious approach to free agency this past offseason. Instead of going after the big names, team president David Stearns targeted players who wouldn't cost too much, while still keeping the team competitive. One of their best moves of the offseason was bringing over Luis Severino from the Yankees.

This year, Severino recorded a 3.78 ERA, a 1.195 WHIP, a 6-3 win-loss record, 81 strikeouts, and 37 walks over 109.2 innings (18 starts). It is a true bounce-back campaign for Severino, who notably struggled with the Yankees last season. Now, Severino is one of the Mets and manager Carlos Mendoza's more reliable starters.

Severino never had the chance to face off against his former team this season in the Subway Series. Initially, Severino was slated to start, but was pushed back in the rotation.

While speaking with reporters on Friday, Severino says he is still in a group chat with his old Yankees teammates, who he says have been jokingly trash-talking him, claiming that he is "afraid of them." Severino had the ultimate clap-back for his ex-teammates, saying "I'm not afraid of you guys. Right now, you only have two good hitters."

Luis Severino jokingly says Yankees only have 'two good hitters'

Severino said this in a joking matter, but it is a reality for the Yankees. Those two good hitters in question? Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.

Aaron Judge is playing at an incredible level and is the favorite to win the AL MVP award yet again. Entering the All-Star break, Judge leads the majors with 34 home runs, 85 RBI, a .433 on-base percentage, a .686 slugging percentage, and a 1.111 OPS.

Then there's Soto, who has played well for the Yankees in his walk year. Soto is slashing .295/.426/.558 while recording 23 home runs, 66 RBI, 75 runs, and 101 hits. Besides those two players, there is a lot left to be desired for the Yankees in the current batting order.

Giancarlo Stanton had been relatively healthy and was one of their top hitters this season. But after suffering a hamstring injury in June, the offense took a step back in a huge way for New York.

Anthony Volpe seemingly took the next step at the start of the season, looking like the Yankees leadoff hitter for the foreseeable future. But he had since entered a slump and was pushed down the lineup in favor of rookie Ben Rice.

Then, there are the consistent contributors to the batting order's struggles. Gleyber Torres had been a liability at the plate and in the field for the majority of this season. D.J. LeMahieu is a ground-into-double-play machine for the Yankees when there are runners on base. Alex Verdugo entered a slump after his homer against his former team, the Boston Red Sox, on June 14.

There has been promise of late, with Rice being one of their better hitters in the current construct of the lineup. Catcher Austin Wells has been on fire as of late, and is in desperate need to move up in the order.

But with the trade deadline approaching, general manager Brian Cashman needs to add multiple bats. Preferably, ones that will take Torres and LeMahieu out of the everyday lineup at second and third base.

The Yankees have serious World Series aspirations. After all, they did trade a lot for one year of Soto. Severino's joking comment should serve as a wake-up call for Cashman -- you need to improve the batting lineup by the July 30 trade deadline.