Brian Cashman discusses Yankees’ offensive struggles, Aaron Judge injury and commitment to Anthony Volpe
The Yankees are struggling mightily over the last week without their captain.
Since Aaron Judge went on the IL with a right toe sprain, the team is 4-8 including four straight losses. They were just swept by the Red Sox this weekend and the offense has been the biggest reason for the team’s struggles.
In that three-game series in Boston, the Yankees scored just eight runs and there are a lot of questions around the team and whether they can get out of the slump.
To field those questions, Yankees GM Brian Cashman spoke to the media prior to Tuesday’s series opener against the Seattle Mariners and spoke about the team’s struggles, Judge and the rest of the team.
Here are some key takeaways…
On the offensive struggles…
“It’s a real grind and a tough season at times and this is part of it. We will grind through it. Living through it doesn’t make it any easier…
"When you’re struggling you search for a lot, tinker a lot. For our veteran hitters this is not their first rodeo. They understand how difficult it could be. I’m happy with their commitment, their care and ultimately I know I’ll be happy with their end results. Right now we’re struggling and we just have to play through it."
Cashman added when asked about the fan frustration, "I know there's frustration outside. I can promise you there's frustration inside, but that doesn't change the fact that we've got a lot of belief in who we have here and what they're capable of. They got our support and we’re going to grind through it with them.”
On some of the big-name players who are currently struggling, Cashman said that he’s not overly worried about any of them. However, he said that they are trying to “unpack” Giancarlo Stanton’s injuries and they believe that’s a reason for his struggles right now.
Cashman said the organization is looking to see if DJ LeMahieu is overcompensating in his approach at the plate after his injury from last season. As for Josh Donaldson, Cashman thinks he needs more consistent at-bats to properly gauge how he’s doing. He brings up his good spring and his start to the season before his injury, and now they need more time since his return to assess him.
On Judge’s injury
“It’s a unique injury. The most important thing is to make sure he’s healed… This could be longer, we need to be very careful with this. He’s a very devoted athlete. He wants to be out there fighting for his team and our fans and that’s where missteps can take place. You have to protect the player from himself. He wants to be out there as soon as he can. He has to be smart and we have to be smart.
He’s improving and those are encouraging signs but we’re not at a place to speculate on a time frame."
When asked if he felt the Yankees’ lineup was too reliant on Judge, Cashman said he doesn’t because there are a lot of professional hitters on the team. Cashman did say that there are things that Judge does that can’t be replicated but he’s confident the team will turn it around.
Cashman was also asked if Judge doesn’t return by the All-Star break can the team withstand the loss of their captain, and the GM said the team could because the team has those “professional hitters” he spoke about.
He also said there’s nothing he can do about the loss of Judge at this time with the trading deadline so far off. Although, he reiterated from his talk with the media earlier this season that the team is never closed to trade talks.
"We're not gonna obviously do any trading to replace Judge, so ultimately, we've just got to wait for him to get back. In the meantime, we have a lot of guys that are capable of doing great things for us. It’s missing right now but it’ll come around, I truly believe that.”
On Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza
“When we made the decision to go with Volpe we stated it was a long-term commitment. Right now, we need our offense to do better but ultimately we’re not relying, per se, on one of the rookies to fill in a gap.
"This offense is going to be geared up if the people we are more used to seeing are doing what they are capable of doing and that allows the younger guys to tuck in and find their way. He’ll get his sea legs under him… He’s contributing to us in smaller ways but there is obviously a bigger portion of his game that we look forward to seeing as the season goes on. We’re not shying away from Anthony Volpe. We believe in him and we’re invested in him and we know there’s a payoff as long as we walk that tightrope with him.”
Cashman was asked about whether the organization has considered bringing up Peraza, who is doing well in Triple-A, for Volpe and the GM dismissed it.
“We always have that as a prerogative but that's not one we’re pursuing at all. We’re very happy with Peraza. We have two high-end players, one is in the major league level and one is sitting there buying his team in Triple-A. It’s a great situation to be in especially when we move forward. We have nothing but full support for Peraza.”
Cashman did say that they are giving Peraza turns at second and third base in Triple-A.
