The Yankees have announced a three-year contract extension for general manager Brian Cashman. The new contract runs through the 2017 season.
Cashman, 47, will return to a post which he has held since 1998 in spite of the fact that the Yankees missed the playoffs for consecutive seasons for the first time in his tenure in 2013-14. That two-year absence also marks the first time in which the Yankees have failed to reach the postseason in consecutive seasons since 1992-93. However, in spite of that fact, ESPN’s Buster Olney reported in late September that the two sides were working on a new contract.
While it’s perfectly fair to question the team’s decision to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in aging players, the Yankees can point to the fact that the signings of CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett (now with the Phillies) led to a 2009 World Series championship. Of course, investments since that time have failed to pay off. The lauded Brian McCann signing of last offseason was a disappointment, and the additions of low-cost veterans Brian Roberts, Brendan Ryan, Stephen Drew, Kelly Johnson and Matt Thornton did not round out the roster as hoped. Jacoby Ellsbury made good on the first year of his seven-year, $153MM pact, and Masahiro Tanaka looked to be worth every penny of the $175MM total investment the Yankees made in order to secure his services prior to suffering a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament.
Midseason additions of Chase Headley, Martin Prado and, in particular, Brandon McCarthy each proved to be wise maneuvers that bolstered the team’s roster, even if the ultimate result did not pan out. Prado, who hit .316/.336/.541 for the Yankees, remains under team control for two more seasons, while McCarthy and Headley are free agents.
Cashman now faces the daunting task of trying to bring the Yankees back to the postseason in the near future despite having more than $168MM in payroll already committed to both the 2015 and 2016 rosters. That number does not include arbitration raises to players such as Michael Pineda, Ivan Nova, Shawn Kelley, Francisco Cervelli and David Phelps — each of which will further add to payroll and complicate the team’s short-term outlook.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mehh. I’m still indifferent about the man. It’s very hard to judge him when ownership half the time overrules him.
Do I think he is a bad GM? No. Do I think he’s a great GM? No.
I just want Rob Thomson gone more than anybody.
I can’t tell either. And, I agree about Rob Thomson. Too many guys thrown out at the plate.
Fictional but quite possibly non-fictional:
“The 1-2 Jeter, base hit to RF, Jose Molina rounds 3rd, he’ll hold right there, Oh no wait he’s going home, the throw from Vladimir Guerrero is in Plenty of time and Molina is out to end the inning. Ya know Suzyn why would he go home?”
“Well John in looking at the replay it appears Rob Thomson was waving him in”
I want Tony Pena to be the manager.
I agree with you.
My view, if there really is someone out there to target then sure let him go, but I don’t think he needs to be let go, just to be let go. You can do a lot worse.
He’s not overruled half the time, and to an extent all GMs are occasionally overruled. The amount of talent he acquired via easy trade this seasons shows his main strength, which has always been the trade market. I really think the Cashman Eppler combo is one of the best in the game.
If it makes you feel better long is gone.
I just saw that report as well. I almost think they had to. I liked him. Good luck to Kevin Long.
Kelleher too. Some hope for Thomson too?
Maybe they just want to put him at first where he can”t do any damage?
Could make some sense. Coaches bring more to the team than just what they do during the game. Was real questions though about his abilities at waving runners.
I’m pretty good at waving, maybe they can hire me?
I’m reading Kelleher’s contract was up, so he likely was not fired. Just that they didn’t bring him back
Good move.
Feels like a relatively inconsequential move tbh
The Yankees have enjoyed a ton of succes under his reign. I’d say it’s pretty consequential that they are able to keep him.
Though a lot of that really has to do with Gene Michael and technically Steinbrenner’s check book.
I’m just very glad they are also going with a new scouting system. At least that’s what I’ve read.
Yeah, I also like the idea of bringing in a new thought process in terms of scouting. They have been ok for where they always draft but they certainly could do a lot better.
A lot of that was more about the cash than the Cashman
Agreed, though he still made some big trades in that era (Clemens, Justice) and his first ever FA signing was El Duque.
…until you think about the alternative.
We have no real way of knowing what the alternative is. I personally wanted him back, but for all I know they could’ve stolen Jason McLeod or some other high ranking official.
I meant the alternative being not having Cashman back.
This is a tough job. Ownership is always meddling in. The perception is you have an open checkbook, but that’s not really the case. In the past, ownership has signed the big deals, and Cashman has had to make the team work in spite of those hand cuffing deals.
His best moves are the middle to small trades and pick ups. Just looking at last year, Headley, McCarthy, Prado. That’s where Cashman shines. The Swisher trade. Pineda. And picking up FA pieces on the cheap that have resurgent careers. Colon, Andruw, etc.
And he doesn’t really get hosed in trades either. The only really bad one I can think of is Javy Vazquez v2.0.
Ownership gets the credit/blame for the extremely large deals a la Sabathia, Tex, etc. But the rest should be accredited to Cashman. And I’m happy he’s back to continue to improve the team.
Ehh even in Javy 2.0 all he really lost was Vizcanio who ended up busting. He couldve gotten Melky back a yr later. And overall Logan brought the most value for either team. I’d say the last deal he really lost was clippard.
+1 Definitely Clippard for Albaladejo is the worst trade. I can’t think of one that comes close…
Strange under his two year reign as GM they haven’t made the playoffs once.
This was his 16th season as Yankees GM
I thought the sarcasm was clear.
Pretty poor sarcasm then, no offense.
If it was sarcasm you gotta be way more explicit about it
Not to say it was good sarcasm, but it wasn’t that unclear. It’s very obvious that Brian Cashman has been Yankees GM for more than two years. Anyone posting at MLBtr in the Brian Cashman Extension article would know this.
I’m sad to report that I’ve seen less informed comments here.
I got it, so… that’s at least one person haha
Sarcasm = taking a polar opposite viewpoint to what you actually believe on a matter and bringing that polar opposite viewpoint to an extreme (ex: Mcdonalds is just sooooo good!)
Sarcasm == nonchalantly stating incorrect information
That is SUCH a great definition of sarcasm.
I am an English Professor (no really I am) and I think you were going for parody. And, now I get it. At first, I just assumed you were bad at math. Sorry.
This guy wouldn’t have a job anywhere else. Where else could you get away with Igawa, Hammond, Karsay, Womack, Wright, Pavano, Winn, Beltran, Johnson (Randy and Nick), McCann, Vazquez, Mitre, Feliciano, trading away Clippard. The list goes on and on. What else am I missing?
LOL so let’s go back fifteen years and find El Duque, Swisher, Granderson, Sabathia, David Justice, the trade for A-Rod, Boone Logan, Soriano (twice), Russ Martin, Scott Brosius, trading Wells (a #2-3) for Clemens (top 4 SP in MLB), the Giambi deal is viewed as mostly a success, what else am I missing?
Did Ellsbury really make good on the first year of his deal? 3.3 or 3.6 WAR depending on whether you use BR or Fangraphs. Playing by Fangraphs value of a FA win (which I don’t buy into), he’s basically worth it.
But that’s down over 2 WAR from last year and speedsters don’t exactly get better with age.
Their bottom doesn’t neccesarily drop out either, his year at the plate was underwhelming but he still adds very good value defensively and on the basepaths.
Depends on whether or not he can improve at the plate. He’s also got a fairly extensive injury history.
Speedster tend to age very well.
fangraphs.com/blogs/the-slow-decline-of-speedy-out…
Speedster age very well.
Not really. Even a guy like Rajai Davis who steals a ton of bases and is a serviceable platoon player isn’t worth all that much.
The aging curves actually put that fast players age better than other players. Free swingers age the worst
True, but the vast majority of the free agent speedster contracts have been big busts. Ellsbury could regress to something that’s still a serviceable MLB player unlike Ryan Howard, but that wouldn’t be worth twenty one million.
No it wouldn’t, which is why every long term contract hopes to get excess value in the first years. The aging curves though say the speedy guy will be better than any other type of player at the age 37. They don’t start their decline quite as early as everyone else.
I still feel they vastly overpaid for him.
I don’t think he’s overpaid by that much though. I do think the Yankees overpaid. Ellsbury was a luxury to the team, with Gardner in the fold already. We had more pressing matters like the infield & SP that were necessities.
Would anyone else have topped $120MM for him?
The problem though is that signing him forced a way underutilization of Gardner. Corner spots are supposed to be all about hitting.
How much did Shin Soo Choo sign for? That contract looks like a disaster compared to Ells…
“age very well” “isn’t worth all that much”
I think you two are on different wavelengths.
I’m not sure i would say Davis hasn’t aged well. Seems like he is as good as he’s ever been. I can’t it, but a stats site had an article prior to ells FA that shows that they tend to age just fine.
Some credit to the loss has to be given to Girardi inexplicitly batting Ellsbury in the 3 spot.
I guess, but his year isn’t all that surprising. The biggest shock was that he stayed healthy.
Wasn’t though. There was a refusal to bat Jeter anywhere but #2, which destroyed any chance the lineup had of getting something going at the top.
Gardner is no slouch either, he doesn’t steal bases quite as good, but him and Ellsbury will be the first 2 hitters next year.
That sounds exciting. Too bad they’ll be stranded there all season thanks to our 3-5.
Tex is what he is, but Beltran and McCann really need to earn their paycheck next season. And who knows where ARod slots in.
I think the Yankees have a pretty good chance to have a decent lineup if they do the right moves. McCann/Beltran/Tex I think will see some improvement, they were just that bad.
I think that’s true for Beltran and McCann. People have been saying that about Tex for awhile now.
Get ready to fight with us for AL East 4th place all next season, friend.
2014 was all about losing our way to the 2015 World Series. When we get to the bottom, we go back to the top of the slide. Helter Skelter is the new Moneyball.
Agree. He wasn’t McCann bad, but his overall season line was a huge let down. They aren’t paying him $23MM a year to be worth 3.5 WAR in year one. You know the last year he won’t be great, but you should hope the first years he is worth 4+ war.
I’d actually say he was close to McCann bad. Before accounting for framing, McCann was worth 2.3 fWAR, for 17 MM AAV on a shorter-term deal, while Ellsbury was worth 3.3 I think for 22 MM AAV with an extra two years on the end. McCann is a good pitch framer so it’s not impossible he was closer to 3 WAR. I’d say B-Mac was realistically paid about 6 MM for this season, per WAR, while Ellsbury is around the same.
Why don’t you buy into the value of a FA win? it’s definitely at least 5 MM, and more likely 6-7 MM per win.
There shouldn’t be any set value. WAR is an aggregate of many factors and some of those are worth more than others. Some players prefer years over AAV. Injury histories, team budgets, market alternative, attitude, team prospects, and many other things determine salary.
It’s a fine reference point, but then you get the people who try to argue that Jackie Bradley Jr. is worth 12 million because of his WAR and yet he has no trade value and doesn’t start. If he was released by the Sox, would a single team really pay him anywhere near that number?
To a large extent, the price per WAR is contextual and relates to incremental value added. An 85 win team with a black hole at SS who signed, say a Peralta this off-season would put themselves in the playoffs. A 75 win team could just have easily put a replacement player out there and saved $10M.
I think the larger point on both McCann and Elsbury wasn’t that they were failures, but that they weren’t worth anywhere near what they were being paid–more so with McCann than Elsbury. Beltran was a disaster. But the three biggest mistakes predate this year by several—A-Rod’s extension after an optout, CC’s extension after a suggested opt-out, and Tex. Everyone knew A-Rod was being grossly overpaid. CC and Tex aged faster than expected. Those three decisions were at the ownership level.
Tex wasn’t a bad plan though. They signed a good young slugger that was 28, and only had to go 8 years. Compare that to Pujols who got 10 years and he was already in his 30’s.
I agree, I don’t think anyone expected such a sharp decline so rapidly. First basemen who are agile athletes for their position should have aged better than Tex.
Not sure how many times I’ve said this, but the A-Rod re-signing was Steinbrenner. Cashman stated he wanted no part of A-Rod if he opted out. 3-4 days later Steinbrenner gives him a new 10 year deal.
That’s why I mentioned “ownership level”
It was good they brought him back, and it was something they needed to do. The problem was that they vastly overpaid for him. He was a 9.6 fWAR player in 07, and he was only 31. Was along the same lines as Cano, only he was much better than Cano.
they needed him, but they way overpaid when he wanted to come back.
Brian M will be ok next year. He has adjusted to hitting in the AL PLUS he does a great job with the pitching staff.
Why? I guess the decline is Kevin Long’s fault?
“…the Yankees can point to the fact that the signings of CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett (now with the Phillies) led to a 2009 World Series championship.”
Well sure they can point to that. But at the time they spent all that money, most of the opinion was that while those moves would help in the short term, the organization was making it virtually impossible to win 5-6 years down the road. There were plenty of other moves the team could have made in 2008-2009-2010 to be nearly as strong then and not completely hamstrung today.
What is it with people insisting that Brian McCann’s season was such a huge disappointment?
In hard numbers, he had more hits, RBI, HRs, Runs scored, and 2Bs than in his last two seasons. He started slow, but was mashing by the end of the season. While his OPS was low, he was superb on defense and managed a pitching staff decimated by injuries to be one of the better rotations in the AL.
He was worth every penny so far.
10 more walks would have been nice, but that’s the nature of things sometimes.
you’re comparing counting stats between this year and last year? He played in 40 more games this year
I’m comparing his salary to what a win is worth. And he’s worth it. WAR doesn’t capture his pitch framing ability or his leadership on the pitching staff. He made something out of nothing and it was really incredible this year. And he really went on a roll as he got more comfortable. Point being: he doesn’t make THAT much, so noticing that he was probably worth, at the least, 3 wins above replacement with all things considered. That’s worth about 18 million on the market.
That’s weird, because you didn’t mention WAR at all in your post, you mentioned hits, RBI, HRs, Runs scored and 2Bs. You said he had more than in the last two years. Just comparing the categories you mentioned to last year, he had slightly more in 38 more games.
I never said he was a bust or that he was a disaster. I’m simply commenting that your comparison points don’t say that much.
Well I don’t write everything down in every post–they’d be 20 pages if I did.
Point being: if you look at the production, it’s really not that bad considering how much he did as our catcher and leading our pitching staff. It’s actually kind of good–he was one of the more valuable Yankees behind Tanaka, Ellsbury, Gardner, Kuroda. He was certainly better than Teixeira and Beltran. Cervelli also did great in a part-time role, so that softened the problem a bit, too. 75RBIs from your catcher is pretty good, after all.
But mostly, I liked that at the end of the season McCann started to hit better and find a comfort zone. He clearly has things to work on, but I think he had a difficult adjustment year (as players often do). I think this team hasn’t developed its chemistry yet given the high turnover and McCann is going to emerge and step up in a big way during the rebuilding process.
I wasn’t really commenting on what you didn’t write, more on what you did.
crazy how young cashman was when he started out for the yankees. I think he’ll be fine. The team is in transition. Lot of injuries.
One of the Yankees top prospects, Gary Sanchez, is ready to move up to AAA and they’re not going call him up a level to have him sit on a bench. Cervelli is a really good player when he’s healthy but he’s not healthy a whole lot. Sometimes it’s a lingering issue (hamstring) and sometimes it’s a freak accident (foul ball off the exposed hand, breaking it). Either way, John Ryan Murphy is ready to be Brian McCann’s back-up on the major league level and Austin Romine is an emergency option for stashing at AAA, backing up Sanchez. Either one of these guys gets traded in a package for something the Yankees need (a starting pitcher or a middle infielder or even a good back-up outfielder that can play all 3 outfield positions) or Cervelli gets non-tendered.
If I were ownership I would not have re-upped Cash. I would’ve tried to hire John Coppolella from Atlanta.