Brian Cashman says Yankees still open to making moves with spring training underway
On-field workouts have begun as the players have descended upon Florida and Arizona for spring training. But with around 100 players still unsigned, the opportunity for another signing at the late hour of the offseason is something Yankees general manager Brian Cashman isn’t ruling out
“We’re not pencils down by any means,” Cashman told reporters Thursday. “If there's ways to improve the club, we can be open-minded to that. Because we know what the goal is. The goal is to be the last team standing.”
While the Yankees added outfielders Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo to check the boxes of needing more run-producing bats in the lineup, the starting rotation is still an area that could be addressed.
“I guess it’s always pitching,” he said. “That’s the most important part. You can score as much as you want, but the pitching is always the key to the kingdom.”
The club added Marcus Stroman after missing out on Japanese superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but with the organization's stated lofty goals, the questions around the rotation remain -- especially when dependability could be an issue all season around lefties Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes.
Cashman said he believes the Yanks “have a lot of good, talented starters and relievers, clearly the health is going to be the most important aspect of it. If we can keep ‘em healthy we should be able to pitch with anybody. But, again, health is gonna be the big key.”
Among the scores of unsigned players are NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell and former Yankee Jordan Montgomery. When asked if he was surprised that both of the left-handers (who are represented by Scott Boras) are unsigned as pitchers and catchers report, the GM dodged the question.
“I’ve got nothing to say about it really,” Cashman said. “Scott Boras has taken his clients into spring training before.”
The Yanks, who have been looking to keep their high payroll from ballooning to levels that ownership considers unsustainable, were reportedly rather far apart when they engaged with Boras on Snell earlier this offseason.
“And we definitely had a lot of conversations with Scott Boras regarding his pitching,” Cashman told the Talkin’ Yanks podcast later on Thursday. “But ultimately it didn’t lead anywhere at any of those times. Obviously, that was it so nothing more to add.”
Of course, with the market still stagnant, however unlikely it is that either lefty dons pinstripes this season, the GM indicated they will keep avenues of communication open.
“I’ll say we’re always open-minded,” Cashman explained. “I don’t have ‘block’ on my call sheet for any agents. If they want to call, I’m happy to do so and to listen to what’s available as well as continue our dialogues with opposing general managers. But we do like what we have here at the same time. But it’s a long season. So, we know that, and we’re certainly not going to assume what we have now is going to be enough. That's why the job is to always be open."
On the slow market, Cashman told Talkin’ Yanks that while this pace is beginning to become more of a norm with trade talks and free agency “leaking” into spring training, that isn’t why this offseason is different for the club.
“This spring is a little bit different because, obviously, I'm not used to coming off of an 82-win season,” he said. “So because of that, yeah this is a whole new ball game. We've got enough sand kicked in our face, and rightfully so, for last year and how it went and how it played out and for whatever the reasons were it doesn't matter. And so that bad taste we all want behind us as fast as we possibly can.
And that means a better product, a better roster, a better athlete individually [and] collectively all the above. And then you start to dream big time once again. So that's what we're here for.”
