One New York Yankees coach does not feel that Seattle Mariners star Cal Raleigh compares to Aaron Judge.

The American League MVP battle is a two-horse race between New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh ... or is it?

Yankees bench coach Brad Ausmus chimed in on the MVP conversation this week, and he doesn't really think Raleigh matches up to Judge in that department.

“I understand, as a former catcher, Cal Raleigh is having an unbelievable year as a catcher,” Ausmus said during an appearance on MLB Network Radio. “Certainly deserving of MVP votes. I actually don't think it's close. I saw a tweet a few days ago that said if you subtracted 180 OPS points from Aaron Judge, he'd be Cal Raleigh. And if you subtracted 180 points from Cal Raleigh, he'd be an average major league player."

Judge is slashing .327/.452/.673 with 48 home runs and 104 RBI over 642 plate appearances this season. He is on track to win the AL batting title and leads the majors in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

Meanwhile, Raleigh is slashing .246/.360/.583 with 56 homers and 118 RBI across 669 trips to the dish. He broke Mickey Mantle's single-season record for most home runs by a switch hitter, and he is pacing the majors in long balls overall this year.

It should be noted that Raleigh — typically a great defensive catcher — has displayed a pretty significant decline defensively this year while Judge — who showed serious signs of slippage in the outfield the past couple of years — has actually rebounded quite nicely with his glove in 2025.

One of the key arguments in favor of Raleigh is that Judge has a better supporting cast around him, and perhaps the fact that Judge has taken home AL MVP honors two of the last three years will result in "voter fatigue" and allow Raleigh to steal the award.

But realistically speaking, Judge has been more valuable than Raleigh this season, boasting a 9.1 WAR to Raleigh's 8.5.

You really can't go wrong with either player. Both have been brilliant. But Judge is almost certainly the answer. We'll just have to wait and see which direction the voters decide to go.