On-field practices have begun as the players arrive in Florida and Arizona for spring training. However, with over 100 players remaining unattached, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is not ruling out the possibility of another addition at the end of the offseason.
“We’re not pencils down by any means,” Cashman told reporters Thursday. “If there are ways to improve the club, we will be open to them. Because we understand what the goal is. “Our goal is to be the last team standing.”
While the Yankees recruited outfielders Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo to fill the need for additional run-producing hitters in the lineup, the starting rotation remains an area that might be improved.
“I guess it’s always pitching,” he explained. “That is the most crucial element. You can score all you want, but pitching is always the key to victory.”
The club got Marcus Stroman after missing out on Japanese superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but given the organization’s stated lofty aspirations, doubts about the rotation linger, especially since consistency might be an issue all season for lefties Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes.
Cashman feels the Yankees have “a lot of good, talented starters and relievers; obviously, health will be the most important aspect of it.” If we can keep them healthy, we should be able to pitch with anyone. However, health will be the most important factor.
Among the unsigned players are NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell and former Yankee Jordan Montgomery. When asked if he was shocked that both left-handers (represented by Scott Boras) remain unsigned as pitchers and catchers report, the GM avoided the topic.
“I’ve got nothing to say about it really,” Cashman remarked. “Scott Boras has taken his clients into spring training before.”
The Yankees, who have been seeking to keep their high salary from rising to levels that ownership thinks unsustainable, were allegedly at odds with Boras over Snell earlier this winter.
“And we definitely had a lot of conversations with Scott Boras regarding his pitching,” Cashman told the Talkin’ Yanks podcast later on Thursday. “But it didn’t go anywhere at any of those occasions. Obviously, that was it, so nothing else to say.”
Of course, with the market currently stagnate, it is unlikely that either lefty will wear pinstripes this season, but the GM said that they will maintain lines of communication open.
“I’ll say we’re always open-minded,” Cashman stated earlier Thursday. “I don’t have ‘block’ on my call sheet for any agents. If they want to call, I’m willing to do so and listen to what’s available while continuing our discussions with rival general managers. However, we enjoy what we have here. But this is a long season. So we know, and we’re not going to assume that what we have today will be sufficient. That is why the work requires you to be available at all times.”
On the slow market, Cashman told Talkin’ Yanks that, while trade rumors and free agency are “leaking” into spring training, that isn’t why this offseason is different for the team.
“This springs a little bit different because, obviously, I’m not used to coming off of an 82-win season,” he told reporters. “Because of it, this is a whole new ballgame. We’ve had enough sand kicked in our faces, and properly so, for last year and how it went and how it played out, regardless of the reasons. And thus we all want to get rid of that terrible taste as soon as possible.
And that translates to a better product, a better roster, a better athlete individually, and all of the above combined. Then you start dreaming big again. So that is what we are here for.
