Yankees Brian Cashman and the judgment of the present hour

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The Yankees Brian Cashman has now crafted the organization according to His plan. And we are left to speak of it and think of it, with a sense of Yankees pride.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman has brought about a vast and wonderful change. And it wasn’t easy; being a GM means every fan and hack with a keyboard can and will assail his every decision, wounding Him in the house of his friends.

Some even thought of Him as dull and indifferent to the trading deadline.

But now we see Him as zealous and determined: Determined to build a championship club this year, and for years to come. The job he has done is in some respects remarkable. If there are World Series and victory parades in the next decade, wise and thoughtful women will make a note of this occasion with gratitude and appreciation.

Now, measuring the magnitude of the work before him, it is clear that the Baseball Gods rarely sent any man better fitted for his mission than Brian Cashman, perhaps save Branch Rickey. And all that is left for us is to recount His accomplishments. Here is the future path now laid before us by Cashman.

2017

Cash has created a real championship contender for this year. Even Greg Bird now looks likely to return this season, solving the first base problem. That is not to say the Yankees will win anything, even the division. But, still, that is quite a distance to travel in one season: From playoff hopeful to possible World Series contender.

The Yankees might not cross the river Jordan this year, but they have moved much closer to the promised land.

2018

The team will continue to get younger and better while maintaining the vast majority of a probable playoff nucleus. Only Jaime Garcia, Todd Frazier, Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia, Matt Holliday, and Masahiro Tanaka are possible significant losses. It is more likely that Tanaka returns, and it’s possible that either CC or Garcia also return, along with Holliday.

The Yankees will also likely shed both Chase Headley and Jacoby Ellsbury, as well as trade either Didi Gregorius or Starlin Castro at some point during the next 12 months. Starlin has one more year under team control than Didi, making him more likely to be retained.

Replacing some of those players will be Miguel Andujar and all-world Gleyber Torres; Andy might still take over the hot corner this year. The Didi/Castro trade will undoubtedly bring back a significant, young starting pitcher, adding to a strength.

And Cashman has been slashing the salaries with this exact time frame in mind. With at least $40 million to spend this off-season, He will be able to afford Yu Darvish, the best free agent pitcher this year and a true ace. I am sure he has already set up a meeting with Darvish and Hideki Matsui, along with his good friend Derek Jeter.

They can explain what it’s like to win a World Series as a Yankees player, both for Yu Darvish the baseball player, and Yu Darvish the international brand.

2019

This team will largely resemble the one from 2018. The only major loss will be David Robertson. But the rotation will still include Severino, Tanaka, Gray, and Montgomery, along with whomever Cash adds from free agency and the trade cited above.

That gives the Yankees three postseasons to capture a title or two with the pitchers Cashman already acquired. And an offense, already good enough to have the Yankees good enough to already qualify for the playoffs, will get better and younger over the next two years.

The Future and the Farm

We will see all this, and more, for 2020 will see the first major changes to the team just built by Cashman. Sonny Gray and Aaron Hicks will both be free agents after 2019, while Tanaka, Castro, and Tommy Kahnle do the same after 2020.

That leaves a talented and promising group of young players who do not get to free agency until at least 2022 (Greg Bird and Luis Severino), although most are under team control until at least 2023. This includes Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, Miguel Andujar, and Clint Frazier.

Cashman has already thought of that time, as well. He knew he needed to make trades. But He was determined to keep the best players ready as replacements, and farther than this, no earthly power could make him go.

And now behold the changes by this honest and comprehensive GM who, discerning the needs of the Yankees, endeavored to do his whole duty.

Go 2022 Yankees!

When Cashman held firm on Estevan Florial, he did so with the vision of losing Hicks in two years. And He has ensured there are other quality back-ups, possible late bloomer position players, and promising pitchers at every level of the minors, such as:

Chance Adams, OF Billy McKinney, and C Kyle Higashioka at Triple-A;

Domingo Acevedo, Justus Sheffield, and INF Thairo Estrada in Trenton;

Dillon Tate, Brian Keller, and 2B Nick Solak at High-A;

Freicer Perez, Albert Abreu, and CF Carlos Vidal in Charleston;

And, even at the lower levels, there is Jorge Guzman, INF Dermis Garcia, INF Danienger Perez, and INF Brayan Jimenez showing real promise. If you didn’t see a designation, that means the player is a pitcher; that’s a lot of depth.

Cash seems to have promising, quality arms ready to debut every year for the next three or four years. That’s how you try to create a perennial playoff team. That is not to say that Cash did not lose some very talented players. But he was at least able to trade three talented players with question marks.

Life is a Series of Hellos and Goodbyes

It seems that Divine Providence intervened to make Fowler his most valuable, and expendable, at the exact time Cashman wanted to make this trade. And true to form, Cash crafted a trade with his friend, Beane, that is good for both clubs.

For instance, Dustin Fowler saw his Yankees prospect ranking recently raised to fourth. That’s partly due to his play this year, but also because some higher ranked players were just traded. And numbers have power.

Also, he got hurt before he could hit. That means his offensive possibilities live on in the undiscovered country, where all things are possible. But he did show grit and heart to all the world. Every team wants a player like that. Fowler is a major league outfielder, and his inclusion ensures this trade is not a bust for the Athletics.

And Who doesn’t Want a Surfeit?

But the Yankees have a surfeit of outfielders both on the team and the farm. Fowler is not better than Judge or Frazier. And he’s not better than the 2017 Yankees version of Aaron Hicks, while Gardy looks likely to finish his contract wearing pinstripes.

Dustin would make an ideal fourth outfielder, but both Jake Cave and Billy McKinney look equally ready to fill that role. And below him is Florial, whom the Yankees have made clear they think is the best of their remaining outfield prospects.

And keeping Florial really showed Brian at his best. The Yankees grade him out higher than Fowler, which means the Athletics probably did, as well. And he’s been hot lately. Yet Cash got his “friend” Billy to take a less-talented player who just suffered a major injury.

Boom or Bust

James Kaprielian is another perfect trade piece for both sides. The Yankees need to clear roster spots and the vast majority of their remaining top 30 prospects are pitchers. Plus, Kap has been a professional for two years and lost both seasons to injury.

But if these two years prove a fluke, Beane just acquired a front line pitcher…if. And he might start pitching like an ace as soon as the middle of next year. Or he could prove to be inherently fragile. Either way, he’s the only pitcher in the deal, meaning Cash traded a maybe (Kap) for a yes (Gray).

Will Luck Follow Speed?

Jorge Mateo will play in the majors. His speed is incredibly valuable and adds an umatcheable skill that can help a team win a championship. It seems likely, however, that he will be a professional pinch runner. He is the player you see on a highlight and think, what a great player; at least until you see his slash.

Mateo has had two good weeks in the last two years. He continues to try to be the next Rickey Henderson instead of focusing on having the highest OBP in the game. If he wants to get 500 at-bats and play in 148 games in the bigs, he will have to either improve dramatically or change his approach. That seems less likely every year.

Mateo is more of a distant dream than a true future star. But if he does turn it around, he has superstar talent. Two-word letters don’t get much bigger than the first one in that last sentence. And that means that Cash traded three guys with more arrows pointing down than up, right now, for a young front line pitcher.

‘Nuff said.

But his foresight did not end there.

Cashman Might Sign Babe Ruth

Cash also had to clear spots on the 40-man roster and again he focused on the future. Brian traded Matt Wotherspoon and Yefry Ramirez for additional international bonus pool money, also receiving some from Billy Beane in the Gray trade. And getting Beane to part with money in any form is akin to a miracle.

That probably means getting more of the best young international talent next year, which takes five to seven years to impact the big league club. But it could mean something bigger, such as a run at Shohei Otani, even with his injury prone season. Either way, he was already thinking of how he can restock the Yankees in five years, and beyond.

At Least it wasn’t 87 Years Ago, for those of you Keeping Score

We cannot forget that there was a time when such a rebuild would not have been tolerated. That it has happened, and we have been led through it so successfully, is a compliment and a credit to Brian Cashman. Please do not read this is as a claim of arrogance and assumption.

More from Yanks Go Yard

It is true that our faith in Cash was often taxed, although it never failed; it was enough for us that Brian was at the head of this great Yankees movement.

Under his wise and steady rule, we have seen the Yankees transformed and transmogrified. The organization has been lifted from the depths of irrelevance to current and future contenders. And the road He has laid before us stretches through the foreseeable future and into our imaginations.

A Man for All Seasons

When I sat down to write this piece, I could not help but think of Frederick Douglass and his eulogy for Abraham Lincoln. Many of you have probably recognized my not-so-thinly-veiled references. I hope, gentle reader, that you will not hope I am comparing the two men. That was never my object and their accomplishments are not on a level field.

No, I only seek to stand on the shoulders of a Giant: Douglass. I have used his words, words I could never write, to craft a worthy paean to Brian Cashman. Again, there is no comparison between Lincoln and Brian.

Next: Relive the Day Brian Cashman Faced his Destiny

Although, in fairness to Cash, Lincoln only played in a two-team league and had only to defeat the South to win the pennant in ’65. And, when you think about it, Lincoln had more troops, better equipment, and a deeper farm system than the South. I’m sure Vegas gave the North better odds then, than the Yankees today.

And Lincoln had firmness in the right because He gave him the right; Cashman has to rely on video. Actually, maybe the comparison is unfair the other way, at least for these two.

Douglass, however, is in a league of his own. And I am grateful, and humbled, to copy from his scouting report.

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