Brian Cashman letting Jameson Taillon walk was a massive win for Yankees

For all of you out there who hate Brian Cashman and wish for the New York Yankees' demise just so he can be fired, then think again! Remember, things could always be much, much worse, and sometimes it's the moves you don't make that end up saving you. (Also, please stop rooting against the Yankees solely because you hate Cashman. That's what a child would do.)

We wouldn't say Cashman deserves his flowers because this is still a $290 million payroll that leaves a lot to be desired, but look at all the former Yankees out there that have struggled to find success (with the exception of Matt Carpenter and Gio Urshela).

Clint Frazier, Gary Sánchez, Luke Voit, Miguel Andújar, Didi Gregorius, Tyler Austin, Adam Ottavino, Tyler Wade, Zack Britton, Aroldis Chapman, Nick Nelson, Jordan Montgomery, Lucas Luetge, Corey Kluber, Andrew Benintendi and others have departed, and you've hardly noticed. In fact, the Yankees won 99 games last year without a majority of those guys and are off to a good start in 2023.

This isn't exactly anything to pump your fist over, but it's always reassuring to know your team isn't getting absolutely clobbered by lost production from guys who were either once upon a time part of the foundation or viewed as eventual foundational pieces.

Nothings more sigh-of-relief-worthy than Jameson Taillon, however. The right-hander signed a $68 million contract with the Chicago Cubs this offseason, and Cashman dodging that was absolutely necessary for this team's success.

Yankees letting Jameson Taillon walk ended up being a great decision

You'd rather have cheaper, more underwhelming options like Domingo Germán, Clarke Schmidt and Jhony Brito filling innings right now, honestly. None of them come with financial concerns, whereas Taillon's $17 million AAV would have fans hung up on that topic interminably.

Taillon has an 8.10 ERA, 4.94 FIP and 1.73 WHIP across seven starts (26.2 innings). His Statcast page isn't pretty -- he's among the worst in the league when it comes to expected batting average, expected slugging percentage, barrel percentage, whiff percentage, expected ERA, and xwOBA.

Then again, this could be the doing of the Cubs' coaching staff, a group that has Taillon emphasizing his cutter and sinker instead of his slider and curveball (the combo he used most in his contract year with the Yanks).

Either way, Taillon pitched to a 4.08 ERA and 4.16 FIP in New York across his 61 starts. Solid ... but not spectacular. And certainly not worth a $68 million plunge given his injury history and limitations with velocity.

In the end, good for Jamo for securing the bag, and we hope he can rediscover his footing and get back on track, but Yankees fans have to be elated that this isn't their problem at the moment, given everything else that's provided some sort of headache.