Yankees normal supervisor Brian Cashman held a fiery session with the media ultimately week’s GM Conferences in Arizona, talking with a stage of candor that’s not typical for himself nor for baseball operations leaders at giant in at present’s recreation. A fired-up Cashman at instances took a combative tone, defending his group’s processes, his scouts, his baseball operations personnel and his analysts — all whereas pushing again on the notion that the Yankees are pushed primarily by information and analytics on the expense of standard technique of scouting and participant analysis.
Cashman wasn’t shy about acknowledging blame for the state of the Yankees’ 2023 roster. “We misplaced means too many video games final yr,” he stated (video link via SNY). “…That’s my fault. I’m accountable because the baseball operations GM. If the proprietor desires to tag me out at any time, he clearly can try this.”
Among the many many contributing elements to the Yankees’ playoff miss in 2023 was an unusually weak season from Giancarlo Stanton on the plate. Accidents are nothing new for the towering slugger, however Stanton’s .191/.275/.420 batting line was uncharacteristically feeble. Cashman plainly acknowledged as a lot throughout his broad-reaching handle with the media.
“We’ve received to get Stanton up and operating once more,” the GM stated (hyperlink by way of Gary Phillips of the New York Day by day Information). “He’s injury-prone. All of us have lived and recognized that, however he’s by no means not hit when he’s enjoying, and this yr is the primary time that that’s occurred. … We attempt to restrict the time he’s down, however I’m not gonna let you know he’s gonna play each recreation subsequent yr as a result of he’s not. He’s going to wind up getting harm once more extra probably than not as a result of it appears to be a part of his recreation. However I do know that when he’s proper and wholesome — aside from this previous yr — the man’s a terrific hitter and has been for awhile.”
Given Stanton’s frequent journeys to the injured checklist, nothing Cashman stated stands out as particularly unfair. Actually, it’s unusual for any prime baseball ops exec to talk so candidly, however with the attainable exception of calling accidents “part of [Stanton’s] recreation,” it was a reasonably measured characterization of the state of affairs. Cashman famous that Stanton himself has been annoyed by his accidents and declining mobility and has labored to get some solutions. On a number of events, he referenced what a usually productive hitter Stanton has been.
Nonetheless, it appears no less than a part of Cashman’s feedback struck a chord with Stanton or his representatives at Wasserman — probably the characterization that future accidents are an inevitability. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic spoke with agent Joel Wolfe concerning the surprisingly frank feedback from Cashman.
“I learn the context of your entire interview,” Wolfe tells Rosenthal. “I believe it’s a very good reminder for all free brokers contemplating signing in New York, each overseas and home, that to play for this workforce you’ve received to be fabricated from Teflon, each mentally and bodily as a result of you’ll be able to by no means let your guard down — even within the offseason.”
Wolfe slipping the “each overseas and home” qualifier into his quote certainly piques the curiosity of Yankee followers — and never in a great way. Wolfe is the agent for star Nippon Skilled Baseball pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who will likely be posted for MLB golf equipment within the close to future. The Yankees are recognized to have curiosity in signing Yamamoto, who will likely be probably the most sought-after gamers to ever make the soar from NPB to MLB. The 25-year-old ace has received NPB’s Cy Younger equal, the Sawamura Award, in every of the previous three seasons and simply wrapped up a season that noticed him log a 1.21 ERA, 26.8% strikeout price and 4.4% stroll price.
Understandably, Wolfe’s feedback have created some angst amongst an already annoyed Yankee fan base that has been hoping for broad-reaching adjustments on the heels of a disappointing season. It’s already clear that there received’t be any sweeping adjustments to the organizational hierarchy, and any occasion that comes with the perceived chance of hindering the probabilities of augmenting the roster aren’t nicely acquired.
That stated, it nonetheless appears unlikely that the feedback concerning Stanton will in the end current any actual affect on the workforce’s negotiations with Yamamoto. The expectation has been and may proceed to be that the right-hander will signal for one of the best supply. Maybe if the Yankees’ finest supply is an identical or solely narrowly separated from a competitor, one thing alongside the strains of the Stanton/Wolfe feedback can tip the scales away from the Yankees, however there are quite a few small elements that may sway negotiations when issues are that shut.
It’s arduous to examine a state of affairs the place Yamamoto leaves an additional yr or vital per-annum {dollars} on the desk over Cashman’s candid feedback concerning a participant who’s not even Yamamoto’s personal teammate at current. Yankee followers will certainly level again to the feedback from Cashman and Wolfe’s reply if Yamamoto lands elsewhere — and maybe that’s the true motivation behind making them, to extend stress on Cashman — however the Yamamoto bidding was at all times going to be fiercely aggressive. Within the grand scheme of figuring out elements for the place Yamamoto lands, this looks as if little greater than a footnote. However, it additionally provides a glimpse at why so many executives defer to boilerplate converse and generalities in media classes just like the one held by Cashman final week.
