Brian Cashman's lack of an endorsement for young Yankees outfielders is big problem

During a week in which many New York Yankees fans expressed disappointment over Trent Grisham's return, New York's pair of up-and-coming outfielders got dragged into the negativity. Until recently, Jasson Domínguez and prospect Spencer Jones were expected to compete for the Yankees' third outfield spot in 2026, presuming New York was letting Grisham walk in free agency and signing either Cody Bellinger or Kyle Tucker to fill the other spot beside Aaron Judge.

With Grisham now locked in, however, and with the Yanks still reportedly pursuing Belli and Tucker, fans are realizing that Jones and Domínguez are likely getting pushed out of the picture, at least from an everyday player standpoint.

Okay, so both of these guys got unlucky with Grisham's qualifying offer, but the Yankees still believe fully in their talents, right? Well, maybe not. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman didn't exactly endorse Domínguez and Jones when he said recently that New York entered the offseason with two outfield "vacancies", which has now become one due to Grisham's return.

The remark indicated that Cashman doesn't view either Domínguez or Jones as viable starters in 2026. And although Cashman has been somewhat inconsistent in his recent interviews when talking about the two young players (he said in one interview that both will be competing for the left field spot), he pretty much let the cat out of the bag when he described Domínguez and Jones as "fallback" options, and there's no going back from that.

Brian Cashman may have just revealed that the Yankees aren't high on Jasson Domínguez and Spencer Jones

Whether or not Cashman's "fallback" remarks mean that he's lost belief in Domínguez and Jones is a matter of debate, but either way, Cashman didn't provide a ringing endorsement for either player, which is an ominous development for the Yanks.

WFAN's Evan Roberts and Tiki Barber unpacked Cashman's comments recently, with Roberts drawing the conclusion that Cashman doesn't "believe" in Domínguez and Jones. Barber pushed back on that analysis, indicating that Cashman might still believe in the future of the two players but simply doesn't know if they are ready to contribute in 2026. In other words, they aren't a sure thing.

Barber's interpretation was more sound because it allowed for the possibility that Cashman likes the future of both players while also realizing that they might be on a different timeline than the win-now mode the Yankees are currently in with an aging Gerrit Cole and a soon-to-be 34-year-old Aaron Judge.

The problem with Cashman's comments were that they were too honest. In the business of MLB, the trade value of Domínguez and Jones likely just dropped due to Cashman basically acknowledging that the Yankees don't see either of those two guys as viable starters right now.

While that may very well be an accurate assessment, there was nothing to be gained by admitting it publicly. This is why you always hear general managers or managers raving about the abilities of their young players. Not only does it reflect well on the organization for drafting those players (or at least makes the appearance that the decision to draft them was wise), it also starts establishing value.

Why not just come out and say that Jones and Domínguez are both very talented guys who could start for a bunch of MLB teams in 2026, including possibly the Yankees? Failing to do so creates bad vibes in-house and does nothing to help their value in the trade market.