Yankees general manager Brian Cashman held a fiery session with the media at last week’s GM Meetings in Arizona, speaking with a level of candor that’s not typical for himself nor for baseball operations leaders at large in today’s game. A fired-up Cashman at times took a combative tone, defending his organization’s processes, his scouts, his baseball operations personnel and his analysts — all while pushing back on the notion that the Yankees are driven primarily by data and analytics at the expense of conventional means of scouting and player evaluation.
Cashman wasn’t shy about acknowledging blame for the state of the Yankees’ 2023 roster. “We lost way too many games last year,” he said (video link via SNY). “…That’s my fault. I’m responsible as the baseball operations GM. If the owner wants to tag me out at any time, he clearly can do that.”
Among the many contributing factors to the Yankees’ playoff miss in 2023 was an unusually weak season from Giancarlo Stanton at the plate. Injuries are nothing new for the towering slugger, but Stanton’s .191/.275/.420 batting line was uncharacteristically feeble. Cashman plainly acknowledged as much during his broad-reaching address with the media.
“We’ve got to get Stanton up and running again,” the GM said (link via Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News). “He’s injury-prone. We all have lived and known that, but he’s never not hit when he’s playing, and this year is the first time that that’s happened. … We try to limit the time he’s down, but I’m not gonna tell you he’s gonna play every game next year because he’s not. He’s going to wind up getting hurt again more likely than not because it seems to be part of his game. But I know that when he’s right and healthy — other than this past year — the guy’s a great hitter and has been for awhile.”
Given Stanton’s frequent trips to the injured list, nothing Cashman said stands out as especially unfair. Certainly, it’s uncommon for any top baseball ops exec to speak so candidly, but with the possible exception of calling injuries “a part of [Stanton’s] game,” it was a fairly measured characterization of the situation. Cashman noted that Stanton himself has been frustrated by his injuries and declining mobility and has worked to get some answers. On multiple occasions, he referenced what a typically productive hitter Stanton has been.
Nonetheless, it seems at least part of Cashman’s comments struck a chord with Stanton or his representatives at Wasserman — likely the characterization that future injuries are an inevitability. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic spoke with agent Joel Wolfe about the surprisingly frank comments from Cashman.
“I read the context of the entire interview,” Wolfe tells Rosenthal. “I think it’s a good reminder for all free agents considering signing in New York, both foreign and domestic, that to play for this team you’ve got to be made of Teflon, both mentally and physically because you can never let your guard down — even in the offseason.”
Wolfe slipping the “both foreign and domestic” qualifier into his quote surely piques the interest of Yankee fans — and not in a good way. Wolfe is the agent for star Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who will be posted for MLB clubs in the near future. The Yankees are known to have interest in signing Yamamoto, who will be one of the most sought-after players to ever make the jump from NPB to MLB. The 25-year-old ace has won NPB’s Cy Young equivalent, the Sawamura Award, in each of the past three seasons and just wrapped up a season that saw him log a 1.21 ERA, 26.8% strikeout rate and 4.4% walk rate.
Understandably, Wolfe’s comments have created some angst among an already frustrated Yankee fan base that has been hoping for broad-reaching changes on the heels of a disappointing season. It’s already clear that there won’t be any sweeping changes to the organizational hierarchy, and any instance that comes with the perceived possibility of hindering the chances of augmenting the roster aren’t well received.
That said, it still seems unlikely that the comments regarding Stanton will ultimately present any real impact on the team’s negotiations with Yamamoto. The expectation has been and should continue to be that the right-hander will sign for the best offer. Perhaps if the Yankees’ best offer is identical or only narrowly separated from a competitor, something along the lines of the Stanton/Wolfe comments can tip the scales away from the Yankees, but there are numerous small factors that can sway negotiations when things are that close.
It’s hard to envision a scenario where Yamamoto leaves an extra year or significant per-annum dollars on the table over Cashman’s candid comments regarding a player who’s not even Yamamoto’s own teammate at present. Yankee fans will surely point back to the comments from Cashman and Wolfe’s reply if Yamamoto lands elsewhere — and perhaps that’s the true motivation behind making them, to increase pressure on Cashman — but the Yamamoto bidding was always going to be fiercely competitive. In the grand scheme of determining factors for where Yamamoto lands, this seems like little more than a footnote. Nevertheless, it also offers a glimpse at why so many executives defer to boilerplate speak and generalities in media sessions like the one held by Cashman last week.
Both Cashman and Wolfe are correct tbh
They are, and the original posts on X (second dumbest name ever) were quoting only a part of what Cashman said, and when you read the entire quote it doesn’t look that bad.
As an employer he could have said the same in a different way, though. Something like “we’ll need to manage his workload next year”, instead of the “part of his game”…
Sounds like Cashman and the Yankees are trying Stanton to waive his no trade clause to leave NY. Good luck with that, they’d have to pick up half of his contract at least, to move him somewhere.
More than that. Probably 95%, not including the $30MM the Marlins owe.
Perhaps they want him to leave, but it’s not a good look for the Org. NY is a tough market as it is, I guess that players assume that the team at least will have their back.
Anyways, as a Jays fan… I’m just enjoying the show.
That’s exactly what they are doing. I would not be surprised that Cashman met privately with Stanton and his agent saying be prepared to be a part time player moving forward and Stanton will need to decide he wants in or out and if he wants out he needs to be flexible as Yankees would gladly trade him even if they can save $5 million per yr over next 4 yrs and eat the rest. Marlins are on the hook for $30 million of the $128 million remaining.
The only thing wrong about what Cashman said is that he should have added “and Stanton sucked in 2022 also”.
so did Cashman
No business smarts either
He shouldn’t have said it. You just don’t say that. Injury prone? That’s not something you say.
He said what we all know. Stanton is a juice head and he will never been healthy for very long
A juice head? Are you saying he’s taking steroids????
A fan can say this. A GM can not.
Who benefited from that statement? Nobody did.
Maybe he is trying to motivate Stanton to get back on the juice. He seemed to have less of an issue with the injuries than the production.
Well, that’s one team Yamamoto isn’t signing with
If their offer blows everyone else out of the water, I think he would still sign with New York.
Sure, but then Yamamoto’s agent is doing his job (well) — and Cashman’s comments are going to cost him. Not doing himself any favors, but then again, he hasn’t in awhile.
The GM stating the obvious won’t affect Yamamoto’s signing.
When the agent of said FA lashes out at the GM its a not a good sign for signing that FA.
There’s no way his decision is going to hinge on this and not $$$. Also you’re assuming no relationship repair and fence mending behind the scenes between now and negotiations with Yamamoto. There’s no way this agent is going to advise him to categorically exclude the Yankees from the process based on a minor beef about another client.
betcha the agent walks back his comments with a big enough offer by the Yanks. lol but Cashman may have just added a “candor” tax to the offer.
Ha ha!
Cashman should be fired immediately since getting Yamamoto a lot more important to the Yankees future than an out of ideas GM.
So Cashman stated the obvious and that upset some.
Apparently the comment didn’t sit well with Mr. Glass and his agent 🙂
Maybe Cashman is trying to encourage Giancarlo to waive his no-trade clause by publicly embarrassing him?
If Stanton had trade value, then maybe that could be a motive, but he doesn’t, so it isn’t.
You telling me No team would take Stanton on say 4/30 deal or $7.5 avv annually? 30 Hrs and 75 rbi’s missing 40 games a given.
More importantly…Yamamoto’s agent, who NYY has been heavily connected to. With these comments, Cashman proverbially farted in a packed elevator right after the doors shut.
Now you have underlying tensions going to the negotiating table with the other party after you’re airing dirty laundry.
Cashman knows they have the same agent. The agent wants the Yankees to be involved, even if it’s only to drive up the price further.
Percent chance this will impact Yamamoto signing with the Yankees: Zero.
@RobM Well that’s just naive. Of course it could impact the Yankees chances of signing him and for how much.
If Yamamoto feels this might effect the NYY from bidding on him in earnest, I’d be switching agents. Nothing Cashman said surprised anyone (other than he said it). Even the agent knows its factual. He should have kept his mouth shut and not risked costing his client a potential bidder.
Nope, Catuli Carl. It’s about the money. If the Yankees offer the most, Yamamoto is going to sign with the NY Yankees. That was the case before Cashman’s innocuous comments, and that’s the case after his innocuous comments.
I can see it now. The Yankees wine-and-dine Yamamoto, put on one of their famous dog-and-pony shows, have their star players from the current and past meet and greet with Yamamoto, they make a massive offer, as they always do when they want someone, and Yamamoto decides he wants to pitch for the most-famous baseball team in the world in NYC.. But, no! His agent reminds him of the innocuous comments about a man he doesn’t even know, and decides instead to leave the money behind to never pitch for the Yankees. Wolfe, in turn, decides to take a lower commission, and in the process piss off the Yankees and future money for his other clients.
If he wants to be in NY, and the Yankees want him (both unknowns although there is some circumstantial evidence to indicate there is interest on both sides), then the Yankees were going to offer the most money. I only wrote zero because there is no lower number. It’s about the money. To think differently is naive.
It’s funny. Fans like me who experienced George Steinbrenner would view Cashman’s comments as a love tap comparatively. No impact. Both sides need each other. Now I don’t think he’s coming to the Yankees, but not because of this.
You just don’t say what Cashman said. You have NOTHING to gain by saying it. It was stupid and feels like a sign that Cashman has one foot out the door.
It will absolutely impact the signing. Yamamoto may still be a Yankee, but Cohen is “enamored” with him and Yankees can’t afford to drive the price up too high with Cohen fixated on his illusion after already landing Senga last year.
Money is a factor, but it’s not all about the money. There have been hundreds of instances where a player or manager could have made more money elsewhere and opted for a different team for non-money reasons. Look at Craig Counsell for instance. Sure he’s getting paid by the Cubs, but he probably could have made even more from a team like the mets, but he wanted to stay in the Midwest. People aren’t robots. Money plays a big factor in their decision making, but it isn’t the only thing they consider.
That’s why players have geographical preferences and no trade clauses. Personally, I would be hesitant to play in NY, a place where fans boo players like Aaron Judge for a few game slump and make people’s lives a living hell like Joey Votto who could barely leave his house while living in NY.
Catuli Carl, you’ve now entered straw man territory.
*absolutely*
*enamored*
Got it. What you just told us is Cashman just cost Cohen more money!
Stanton for Rendon swap. The 2 highest “this cat needs new scenery” scenarios in the sport. Yes Stanton has more years, but Rendon is higher AAV.
As a non-Angels fan, who goes to a lot of Angels games, I support this trade.
Unfortunately Rendon has a full no trade clause and he would veto a trade to media crazy NY faster than you can say “Eating Cheetohs on His Favorite Couch”.
That would be a good trade for the Angels. Rendon has less than zero value.
Exactly, he didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.
People are just too sensitive nowadays. It’s already been ridiculous
I don’t disagree but perhaps what Cashman said is a bit unprofessional for a top baseball executive. At least that’s how some players might see it.
Then those needs to get iron balls
Not only is Stanton’s body fragile, so is his ego apparently
Did Stanton say anything? Or was it just his agent whose job it is to do right by his client? If you were an agent and a GM was basically blaming your client for his injuries, might you have a response?
@Carl
Those injuries are part of his game.
Yes they are. There are plenty of true things you can say about a player that would be in very poor taste for a GM to say publicly to reporters. Again I ask, if you were an agent and a GM said that about your client, might you have a response? Is it somehow inappropriate for the agent to respond to that comment?
Exactly
The truth hurts. Cashman didn’t say anything that wasn’t factual. If the player or the agent doesn’t like it, prove him wrong. Until then, facts are facts.
Saying he will “probably” get hurt is speculation, not fact.
Purely emotional.
Not what anyone should want from someone in an important or leadership position
I think “probably” in this instance is “probability”.
The outcome my not be certain…but you can be certain that Stanton will get injured. Probably.
No lies detected.
Stanton has produced a whopping 4.0 WAR in the past 5 seasons combined. Only cost the Yankees $142 million dollars…
I think Cashman has every right to speak his mind on it, given what’s transpired over the course of his contract.
Former Yankee Mike Ford had a better hitting line that Stanton this year (.223/.323/.475 vs .191/.275/.420). As far as I’m concerned Stanton deserves any and all criticism.
Wow, gotta admit I double-checked that WAR total. Amazing waste of salary.
Oof. I didn’t realize it was that bad.
Someone will have to explain to me where Cashman said one word about Stanton that wasn’t correct.
He said nothing incorrect. Stanton is just a snowflake.
What exactly makes Stanton a snowflake in this situation?
Even saying things that are true can still be considered to be in poor taste. In this instance, I’m sure he and his agent see the “injuries are a part of his game” comment as a bit passive aggressive.
Putting myself in his shoes, I would probably be a little annoyed by that comment. Almost as if I were being blamed for my injuries.
I don’t think anyone is saying he’s incorrect, but I will say that’s something you probably shouldn’t say to a panel of reporters.
Honesty is the best policy.
This seems like a whole lotta nothing.
Organization has more issues than a big name acquisition can fix. They need to be honest with themselves
force Stanton to request a trade
MLB doesn’t have the same culture as the NBA or NFL. If he requests a trade, they don’t have to trade him.
I think they would love to trade him, if they could without eating a sizable chunk of what’s left of that horrible contract
There’s an alternate universe where the Yankees finally dump him and he swats 40 over the Green Monster in a season (in 430 PAs)
mlb the show
Agents suck
I think Cashman got bamboozled with the trade for Stanton- it always seemed too easy on paper and a strange decision from Miami after so recently signing him to that massive extension- I get that it was a new ownership group who were trying to cut costs, but it was still a little odd- and now we probably know why… he had hips that were going to degenerate over time and become a major issue in the back half of that extension- and now here we are.
I think Cashman wants to get rid of Stanton one way or another and he wasn’t going to get Stanton to outright accept a trade, he wasn’t going to be able to void the responsibility of the Yankees to pay their share of the contract- so this was a subtle way to do it- publicly acknowledge in total accuracy and fairness the limitations and problems Stanton has as a player and bruise his ego enough to demand or be very okay with a trade to practically anywhere but the Yankees- shed a third or more of the remaining money, open up the roster spot and move on, be done with it.
I would be shocked if they made nice and just pretended this didn’t happen, even if, again, what Cashman said was true.
My ultimate theory: Cashman knows he hasn’t had much if any real success in the last 14 years. For some reason he is still the GM. So either he has insane job security or he just has zero to lose, so he decided to be brutally honest- both about himself as a GM and about the players he made moves to acquire.
I never loved the Stanton trade. It was *always* suspicious. It was *always* too easy and cheap of an acquisition. The contract was *always* too massive.
I’m ready for them to move on from him- nothing against Stanton as an individual. Seems like a nice guy, when he’s locked in at the plate he’s an astounding hitter and he’s an okay outfielder. It sucks his health hasn’t kept up with his raw talent.
But it is what it is. If we can get rid of him (rough as it is to say it that way) it won’t necessarily improve thew Yankees, but it won’t feel like such an albatross…. and he can try to get a fresh start somewhere else.
If he gets traded and hits .290 with 60 HR’s it doesn’t mean he was going to perform at that level if he stayed on the Yankees.
This would make sense if he hadn’t walked on eggshells before vomiting out that idiotic sentence. Seems to me Cashman is either trying really hard to keep his job or lose it.
I think Cashman both wants to keep his job and can’t believe he still has his job and feels untouchable and has some self-loathing because so many of his moves haven’t really worked out, despite shiny moments that didn’t add up to a championship runs.
That has resulted in him being so candid. This is the real life version of when a movie character goes on TV and is brutally honest and reveals insider thought processes and acknowledges ‘worst kept secrets’ as accurate and it’s typically satirical but this is real life and Cashman is that guy.
No way any team is taking on a third or more of Stanton’s owed money
I beg to defer. Many teams will take him at 4/33 with Yanks eating $65 million especially a team that needs a DH.
To be 34 year old declining league average hitting DH only players with injury concerns don’t get 4 year deals
Yankees can dfa him and probably get the league minimum knocked off every year. I can’t imagine a team actually giving up a viable prospect no matter how much they pay down.
We can thank Derek Jeter, he made the trade to the Yanks when he was running the Marlins.
What Cashman said isn’t wrong, it’s just wrong that he said it out loud to the media.
Cashman’s press conference was one of the most unprofessional i think we’ve ever seen in sports and it comes across as a man not afraid of being fired. Which doesn’t bode well for the Yankees future
All facts
I almost feel guilty for the schadenfreude I have for the Yankees. Almost.
Staton’s frequent trips to the Injured List and to the Bank
The Bank Teller always exclaims when Stanton Sashays into the Bank to make a deposit
HEY, IT’S Stanton again!!!!!!
In today’s modern Era of highly paid and pampered sports celebrities, you simply cannot throw your players under the bus publicly. Privately maybe, but not publicly.
In todays modern era of baseball a General Manager of a team, in this case the Yankees, has every right to openly criticize a player for a lack of performance when that player is making a boat load of cash and has consistently underperformed for multiple seasons and constantly being on the IL while he makes his money…….its the players in the modern game, and this goes for every sport, who demand to re-negotiate contracts they agree to when they feel they have out-performed what they’re getting paid, but NEVER get a pay cut when they suck and don’t even perform their average stats…….criticism can and should be seen as a form of motivation…….
Lol cash will regret stating facts on this one i think
Plot twist: Yamamoto rolls eyes and switches agents.
He might not like his agent cutting out one of the biggest spending teams
Not a Cashman fan but those comments make me respect him. He’s simply telling the truth. Also you do gotta be made of Teflon to play in New York as well. Both correct. Honestly this whole feud thing is just typical New York stuff.
Wait. So yer tellin’ me the Yankees took on a ludicrous contract of an injury-prone. one-dimensional player and somehow, some way it hasn’t worked out?!?!?!?!?!!?
Good thing we have a fainting couch for these shocking occasions……..
He averaged 130 games/year from 11-18. Playing over 150 multiple times. When they acquired he was generally healthy
And that number includes getting his face smashed in with a fastball. He didn’t start getting hurt until he came to NY.
Cashman, though, has no tolerance for criticism of his performance.
Has anyone realized what a fool the agent is? He has basically eliminated the Yankees as a bidder for any present or future clients he may represent. Real great job for his clients
The Yankees and their fan base throw pretty much every player under the bus unless you’re one of the few who for whatever reason don’t get any criticism (Yankee fans never seemed to care that derek jeter was sinking their team every year with his constant GIDPs and atrocious defense). I don’t understand why anyone would want to play for the Yankees other than for $$.
Hey ghost Troll…take your Yankee fan hate to another site……every chance trolls like you get, you generalize and make accusations probably based on never having attended a single game in the Bronx……Yankee fans act and react just like fans of the other MLB teams…its just jealousy that always bubbles to the surface….que the haters who will talk about the Yankees missing the playoffs…….waiting…..waiting…..waiting…..
I have to agree with rocky7 on this one, unfortunately teams in large metro areas and nyc is no exception you have a larger pool of idiots and idiots scream louder than sensible fans, thanks to the internet it makes it easier for them to group up and scream louder. Also some of my best bb discussions on this site were with nyy fans and those nyy fans were objective towards there team and didn’t act like some rabid fanboy.
“Yankee fans act and react just like fans of the other MLB teams”
On what planet????????
Yankees fans have a greater sense of entitlement than fans of any other sports team, they are the unreachable bar that Laker fans, Cowboys fans, Notre Dame fans, can only dream of attaining.
No stadium has had more objects thrown on the playing in the history of objects than the Yankee Stadiums, in fact, there’s not even another team that would warrant mention except for the very rare occasion.
But they missed the playoffs, so that’s good.
@whyhayzee
Phi. says hello for most stuff thrown on the field, and I’m sure there are a few more teams on the East I’m missing, but I digress nyy fans are no worse than any other team, they just have a higher number of “over the top fans” than other markets because there market has been one of the largest and oldest in all of the mlb. There is no fan base out there that has a majority of its fans shake there heads and say “can’t believe them idiots support the same team, they make us all look bad”, only difference is some can hide the idiots because the numbers are smaller.
I was present at opening day this season when the whole stadium was booing Aaron Hicks (an integral part of the AL East champions this season) while giving Anthony Volpe a standing ovation before he had even played a game. It was ridiculous. So you’re wrong. I’ve seen the entitled, whining, childish fans up close and personal. No fanbase knows how to ruin their own players better than the Yankees.
Anyone who thinks Yankees fans are bad has never seen the Red Sox or Phillies fan base
There is a truth that an athlete can shorten his career by working out tooooo much! The human body can only perform so much work and then it starts to break down. Injuries heal with NON ELASTIC SCAR TISSUE!
Time to move on from Stanton (He is broken down and cannot help it),…. Otani ulnar ligament needs repair but it too will never be the same (second time surgery) sad but true.
Be careful in signing the 29 + year olds to long contracts …. they will rarely pay off!
It doesn’t matter, he’s signing with the Mets anyways! This just helps their cause! Hahaha!
Cashman channeling his inner Billy Martin after 4 or 5 shots of Knob Creek. Gotta love it! I was just saying a few weeks ago that somebody in authority in that organization needs to start calling people out a la George Steinbrenner. King George would have added that Stanton WISHES he was Mr May.
No Yoshinobu for you.
How near is the future posting? Makes a big difference if it’s next week. Next year, or a few years from now.
Cashman channeling his inner George Steinbrenner voiced by…Larry David
“Big Stein is getting upset!”
“Out with the old, in with the new…”
“I smell a pennant!!!!”
No one likes to hear the truth
No they don’t. But if it’s negative and the subject is already well aware of it, not much point in screaming it from a hilltop.
Admit it… if you are going to play for the NYY or NYM, you better be able to take the heat…. Those who cannot, leave soon enough.
Unfortunately he has a no-trade clause so he’ll happily take the 25M each season until he contract ends as he plays awful baseball and continues to sit in the bench doing nothing
What did Cashman say that was wrong? What he said was a much kinder version of what The Boss would have said years ago. George called Dave Winfield “Mr.May”. All Winfield did was produce in pinstripes unlike Stanton. Frankly I appreciate the candor.
It took the GM 6 years to realize this? I could do his job better than him if that’s the case