In some ways Yankee general manager Brian Cashman did his best job in 2019. He replaced injured players with unknowns who performed well. They include:
Luke Voit (Joined Yankees in 2018)
Gio Urshela
Mike Tauchman
Cameron Maybin
Mike Ford
Cashman traded for lefty starting pitcher James Paxton. Paxton will turn 31 November 6. Seattle Mariners to the New York Yankees for Dom Thompson-Williams (minors), Justus Sheffield and Erik Swanson. Paxton threw 150 innings for the Yankees with ERA+ 116. Paxton is Arbitration Eligible: 2020 • Free Agent: 2021.
Cashman also signed free agent relief pitcher Adam Ottavino. $9 million each year 2019-2021. In 2019 66 innings, ERA+ 235 (100 is league average).
Cashman's most positive act for the 2019 team: he signed free agent DJ LeMahieu for two years at $12 million per year. LeMahieu played multiple infield positions and had his second OPS+ above 100 (league average): 136. The other: 128 in 2016 with Colorado. LeMahieu turned 31 July 13.
Cashman also signed free agent lefty starting pitcher J.A. Happ for two years at $17 million per year. Happ turned 37 October 19. Happ threw 161 innings, ERA+ 90 (100 is league average). Instead Cashman could have signed free agent lefty starting pitcher Patrick Corbin, who signed with Washington and will be their fourth starter in the 2019 World Series. Corbin turned 30 July 19. For Washington: 202 innings, ERA+ 141. Ouch.
Cashman could have signed Washington ace starting pitcher Max Scherzer when Scherzer became a free agent after the 2014 season. In his five years with Washington: 1,050 innings, ERA+ 156. Cy Young awards:
2013 with Detroit
2016
2017
2018 second place.
Max Scherzer turned 35 July 27. Scherzer is two years younger than J.A. Happ.
Instead Cashman spent this on his bullpen for these two free agents:
Aroldis Chapman: $17 million per year 2017-2021. Innings so far: 50, 51, 57.
Zack Britton: $13 million per year 2019-2021. 61 innings in 2019.
That's 118 innings combined in 2019 for Chapman and Britton for combined salary $30 million. That's about 8% of Yankee innings. For $30 million. And Chapman blew the final elimination game in Houston two days ago.
Bullpen v. Bullpen: no starting pitchers in Houston tonight. J.A. Happ should tell Yankees: "If I ain't starting, I ain't departing." Saturday, October 19, 2019
So, it comes to this. In game six of the semifinal (ALCS) neither the Houston Astros nor the New York Yankees feels that it has a starting pitcher good enough to use in that role tonight...
The Yankees reluctance to start Happ is especially odd because:
- Happ started 30 games in 2019
- Yankees signed him as a free agent for 2019 and 2020: $17 million each year
- Happ had his lowest ERA in Sept/Oct ...
Why is J.A. Happ on the Yankee roster if the Yankees will not start him in a game in which he is their only rested starting pitcher? ...
In both innings and number of starts Happ is second only to Tanaka.
______________________
Brian Cashman and his bullpen strategy exposed. At best: win battle, lose war. Sunday, October 20, 2019
It's difficult to understand how or why any team would enter a 7 game series with only three starting pitchers as the Astros did. Even more bizarre, the Yankees started the series with FIVE starting pitchers but intending to marginalize two: Sabathia and Happ ($17 million a year for 2 years)...
Yankee general manager Brian Cashman was so fixated on relying on a deep and strong bullpen that he lost even basic common sense, which was, of course, absorbed by first time field manager Aaron Boone.
Happ pitched innings 2 and 3 but then was quickly pulled for a series of relief pitchers. Had Happ been allowed to pitch five innings, the Yankees might have had a fighting chance to win game 7.
The pedestrian reaction to that is; hey, you've got to win game 6 to get to game 7. Duh. But game 7 Astros starter Gerrit Cole has been dominant, both in the regular season and in the tournament. A weakened bullpen would have left the Yankees almost defenseless. Game 6 would have been a Pyrrhic victory.
More on Cashman's record in a future post but the basic numbers:
2001-2019 (19 years): one championship (2009)
2010-2019 decade: only one since 1910-1919 in which the Yankees did not even play in the World Series.
The lone championship in 2009 was anchored with pre Cashman "core four" holdovers: Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera.
______________________
Lest we forget:
Jacoby Ellsbury: did not play 2018 or 2019. 95 OPS+ with Yankees. $21 million each year 2014-2020.
Gleyber Torres: Cashman traded Chapman to the Cubs to get Torres. At that time Cashman stated that he valued Torres and had tried to sign Torres when Torres was an international free agent but "we swung and missed". Obviously, had Cashman signed Torres originally, he could have traded Chapman for another valuable prospect.
Aaron Judge: Along with the departed Robinson Cano, Cashman's most valuable player developed.
Yankees drafted Eric Jagielo before Aaron Judge in 2013. Oops. Friday, July 14, 2017
Eric Jagielo has yet to play in the major league. By any reasonable measure, the Yankees drafting him before drafting Judge was a huge mistake. Jagielo was a terrible pick even if Judge were not a factor. AAA in 2017: 18 PA, .603 OPS...
So was Brian Cashman:
- smart
- dumb
- lucky
- all of the above
- none of the above?
____________________
Yankees could have signed Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., top Toronto prospect. Saturday, April 21, 2018
Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. was signed as an international free agent by the Toronto Blue Jays. He was NOT drafted.
____________________
Brian Cashman called out. Friday, August 2, 2019
Brian Cashman swings and misses by his own admission ... and strikes out. Now he's been called out ... on strikes...
And, of course, relief specialists Zack Britton ($13) and Aroldis Chapman ($17) are getting $30 for each of three years: 2019, 2020, 2021. That's for fewer than 9% of team innings but about 38% of the pitching budget ($80 of $200).
One of Cashman's previous blunders is the Cubs starting pitcher in this afternoon's game against Milwaukee: Jose Quintana. He never pitched for the Yankees but Cashman released him ... twice.
When Cashman was looking for a third baseman a few years ago Oakland traded Josh Donaldson to Toronto. Donaldson was AL MVP in his first year with Toronto: 2015.
Cashman traded Chapman to get Gleyber Torres. But that was after Cashman failed to sign Torres as an international free agent. By his own admission, Cashman swung and missed...
Brian Cashman has led a charmed life. His family knew the Steinbrenner family and Cashman was hired as an intern. Eventually when senior people had had enough of George Steinbrenner, Cashman was elevated to general manager in February 1998, basically doing a clerk's job. All major decisions over the next decade were done by George Steinbrenner. Cashman handled the paperwork...
When George Steinbrenner faded out, he was replaced by oldest son Hank, who also faded. Eventually, power went to the youngest Steinbrenner: Hal. Apparently, Hal never heard of a performance review. Cashman has had a lot to answer for.
Almost inevitably Cashman has also done many good things. He had to. He's in his 22nd year as general manager. He had to learn something. And he's had the biggest payroll over those years. Positives:
Gary Sanchez
Curtis Granderson
Mark Teixeira
Robinson Cano
Brett Gardner
CC Sabathia
Didi Gregorius
But even his lone championship not completely or mostly inherited from his predecessors (2009) was anchored by the core four from the 1990s: Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera.
And yet here we are in August 2019 listening to this clerk drone on about his bureaucratic activities. Who can stand listening to this guy? I guess the one guy who counts: Hal Steinbrenner.
____________________
No comments:
Post a Comment