The New York Yankees have a decision to make when it comes to their general manager. Brian Cashman has been at the reins since the late 90s and New York has been consistently successful while Cashman has been in charge.
That being said, their level of success does not meet the expectations that the Yankees historically have had as well as the fans. Aaron Judge lives by the same Steinbrenner Doctrine that the likes of Derek Jeter lived by in that that if team doesn’t win the World Series, the season was a failure.
Well, since 2004, New York has only made one World Series. What does that tell you? It tells you that there has been more Yankee failure under Brian Cashman than there’s been success. I get tired of the argument, but it’s true, if George Steinbrenner was alive, Brian Cashman as well as Aaron Boone wouldn’t be employed.
That being said, George is not alive and his son Hal Steinbrenner is running the show. Unlike his father, Hal Steinbrenner is much more hands-off and trusts his longtime friend Brian Cashman to run the show. In reality, there’s not a ton of accountability if any at all which is why the fanbase is so upset regarding Cashman and Boone.
Will the Yankees retain Cashman?
Brian Cashman’s contract is up and at the end of the month, New York will not have a GM under contract. Now, Steinbrenner came out yesterday and backed Aaron Boone suggesting the manager will be back in his role for 2023.
Steinbrenner did not comment on Brian Cashman. Andy Martino of SNY reported today that the two things have nothing to do with each other. He also reported that the expectation within the organization is that Brian Cashman will be back as GM.
There are three avenues from my vantage point that are acceptable from Hal Steinbrenner. One is letting Cashman go and getting a new voice. I’m not saying Brian Cashman is a bad GM. Not at all. However, sometimes it’s just time for a new voice and I personally think that’s where the Yankees are.
The next option would be to retain Cashman, but bring in someone else to be the everyday GM. Let Cashman keep his Senior VP role, but give him a GM that will work alongside him to get the job done.
The final option would be to let Cashman keep the GM role, but for Steinbrenner to come out himself and talk about the failures the team has had. Don’t sugarcoat anything and say that the front office is doing a great job. Give them a chance while publicly saying that what we’ve seen for 13 years is not acceptable.
What Steinbrenner can’t do is retain Cashman while singing his praises and stating what a success the Yankees have been. That’s just going to infuriate the fanbase even more. So, what do I think is going to happen.
Unfortunately I think the most likely scenario is that Steinbrenner will retain Cashman without any public shaming of the team’s performance. Nobody will be held accountable and we will continue to go on this horrific merry-go-round while getting spanked by better teams every October. I pray to God I’m wrong about it.