Fire Brian Cashman

by EJ Fagan

July 6, 2024

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NOTE: The following comes from EJ Fagan's substack page and is shared with permission. This was published a few days ago so the stats don't include the last few games.

Please check out EJ's substack page for more great articles.

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The Yankees just blew a game to the Red Sox. It’s easy to blame Clay Holmes for giving up a big home run in the 9th, or Tommy Kahnle for a big home run in the 10th, but that’s the cheap way out. The Yankees only barely scratch away 3 runs in this game because the Red Sox couldn’t field a bunch of routine ground balls.

The Yankees offensive woes aren’t a one game problem. They are a roster construction problem. The Yankees are, once again, playing like the worst team in major league baseball. Since the start of their last series against the Red Sox on June 14th, the Yankees are 5-14, good for a 26% win rate. That’s despite Juan Soto and Aaron Judge playing like MVPs, plus solid performances from Austin Wells, Ben Rice and Trent Grisham during the span. Judge’s hitting coach is right.

Yet, the Yankees still can’t score runs. A bunch of Yankee hitters aren’t just playing poorly; they are hitting absolutely pathetically. Alex Verdugo, DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres, Jose Trevino, Oswaldo Cabrera and Anthony Volpe all have sub-.600 OPS's since June 14th (some sub-.500).

The Yankees are going through the same second half roster collapse that they went through in each of the last three seasons, and would have in 2018 and 2019 if not for a few miracle call-ups from Triple-A.

This is a pattern with root causes. And I think blame lies squarely on Brian Cashman’s shoulders.

My critique of Brian Cashman is essentially unchanged from last offseason. Cashman has his strengths as a GM. However, he has a fatal flaw that will forever doom the Yankees to mediocrity: he is terrible at developing young hitters.

Ben Rice is such a breath of fresh air. He looks like a real hitter: he works the count, hits the ball all over the field and takes his walks. He doesn’t have the tools to be an MVP candidate or something, but I’d bet on Rice hitting pretty well in the majors league for a long time.

Ask yourself: when was the last time the Yankees drafted and developed a Ben Rice? Any major league hitter who spent most of their time in the Yankees system, came up with the team, and hit? Think about it for a second.

There are two answers: Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez in 2017. Before those two? Brett Gardner. That’s it for twenty seasons.

Take a look at the 2024 Red Sox roster. This is a team that let Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts leave for little return. Yet, the roster includes home grown, above average hitters in Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Connor Wong and Triston Casas, plus several other solid supporting hitters. Oh, and some guy called Rafael Devers.

The 2024 Red Sox have managed to assemble a bigger stable of real major league hitters in one year than Brian Cashman has in two decades.

Because Cashman has been unable to develop young hitters, he has been forced to patch together a roster with veterans and waiver wire pickups. Alex Verdugo, Jose Trevino, Trent Grisham and J.D. Davis were all cast off by their teams. DJ LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo are past their prime. Oswaldo Cabrera and Jahmai Jones are barely major league players.

That leaves Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, the young player group of Ben Rice, Austin Wells and Anthony Volpe as productive players, and whatever you think Gleyber Torres is worth.

No one should be surprised that this motley group of hitters is collectively bad. Other than Judge and Soto, they are barely distinguishable from the typical player on Oakland or Chicago other than their salaries.

It is impossible to build a winning roster in 2024 without developing young hitters. A bunch of young hitters. Brian Cashman may be the worst general manager in major league baseball at doing so. He is the problem.