Quotes and Reactions from the Yankees Town Hall Meeting

Brian Cashman

An exuberant young fan quickly put the Yankees general manager on the spot, asking how the organization would approach the big free agent class of 2018 — naming Manny Machado, Bryce Harper, and Matt Harvey individually. The fan also told Cashman if Aaron Judge didn’t pan out, then “we” need to do something.

Cashman responded by reminding all those in attendance about the way the new collective bargaining agreement works and the escalating penalties for exceeding the luxury tax threshold. He then spoke about how it is his intention to fill the Major League roster with as many current Minor League prospects as he can because it will open the door to lots of possibilities.

"“I know the talk of the big free agent class of 2018 already had been discussed before the 2016 season started like, ‘Ah, the Yankees are going to wait and reset the clock and go after these guys.’ And since this time, you saw one of our golden nuggets pop out of our system (when Gary Sanchez) established himself as potentially one of the high-end young players in the game. We could have a few more of those, and it’ll allow us to have a lot of different choices to see what’s on the open market at the time. “So who’s to say the rumors out there (regarding the 2018 free agent class) are the necessary ones? … We want our guys to be looked like that six years from now, and hopefully, some of these guys become those guys. Therefore, you’re not having to rely on going to the marketplace and pay a steep price regardless of what they’re talent level is.”"