Six Brian Cashman moves helped put Yankees in this mess

MLB

By Jon Heyman

August 19, 2023 | 3:37am

Many folks around the game will tell you the Yankees’ problem is that they abandoned their scouting roots and swung too far into the analytics arena. To which general manager Brian Cashman always reasonably responds that they always seek to strike a balance between new school and old.

It’s hard for me to say from here how much credence to give the rough outside critiques, but this much I know: There’s far too much balance in the Yankees’ won-loss record.

That they will take a 60-62 record into the second game Saturday against their archrival Red Sox after an 8-3 series-opening defeat Friday is disturbing by any standard. Also very un-Yankee-like.

Cashman’s overall résumé, which previously included only winning records in a generation of seasons — and even better, 21 playoff appearances — is undeniably stellar, with or without the Steinbrenner dollars.

Remarkably this year, they are still given a 2.4 percent chance to make the playoffs on the internet. That must be another computer error.

Though he has failed to deliver the big prize since 2009, Cashman has consistently put together a product Yankees fans can be proud of. Not so this year. This team is not only mediocre, but also painfully boring.

It’s uncertain why fans continue to pack Yankee Stadium. On nights when Gerrit Cole isn’t pitching and Aaron Judge is walking a lot or isn’t playing, there isn’t much to see. Yet somehow, the Yankees rank second in attendance behind the Dodgers, who win every night. The Yankees are averaging 41,516 fans, which is more than most years this decade despite being dull — slow, too little contact, too dependent on the long ball. (From where I sit, it’s also too loud at The Stadium. It’s as if they’re trying to replace quality with decibels.)

While fans have been way too harsh on Cashman, fairly, he’s in a slump. Some believe there’s a shelf life to these 24/7 jobs, and one rival says, “The Yankees should blow it up.”

Of course we must emphasize that’s just one opinion and we don’t recommend firings here. More importantly, with three years to go on his contract and Hal Steinbrenner’s track record of consistent calm, we have to think Cashman isn’t going anywhere.

He has made some nice moves around the edges, for catcher Jose Trevino, and especially for relievers. But, just as with the big games, the big transactions recently have ranged from disappointments to disasters. I’ll rank them here by regret:

1. Yankees acquire Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino for five young players and prospects. Neither man has pitched this season. Montas may return just in time for his free agency, but the Yankees basically got next to nothing. Montas’