Wondering what the Yankees are going to do if they can't sign Juan Soto?
Just consult The Yankee Way: The Untold Inside Story of the Brian Cashman Era, by Andy Martino.
Martino's book contains a firsthand description (pp. 259-263) of how Cashman and his staff reacted as the attempt to re-sign Judge came to a head, just as MLB was having its annual winter meeting in San Diego, in early December, 2022. As rumors spread that Judge was about to sign with the Giants or even the Padres, Cashman and the Yankees "braintrust"...essentially did not have a clue.
Here are a couple lines from Martino, who was in San Diego, covering the meetings, and running into Cashman, Boone, and other Yankees front office guys at their hotel:
"...it felt as if the Yankees were losing the thread. They were now in the dark during a crucial point in negotiations, unaware even where Judge was or planned to be."
Boone "and several high-ranking Yankee officials" sat in a bar, debating whether Judge was flying to SD, as rumored, whether or not Boone should call him...and generally sounding like a cast of Waiting for Godot. "Cashman remained up in his suite, working."
The next day, as rumors spread that Judge had maybe already decided to go home to San Francisco, the Yanks fell into complete disarray:
"For the first time, the front office discussed among themselves the notion that perhaps Judge was done as a Yankee...Upstairs in the Yankees' suite, Cashman and his lieutenants fell silent. A few dropped their heads into their hands...the room was soon funereal: there was quite typing, the occasional sigh, and the heavy feel of dejection."
That evening, with everything still unresolved:
"A pair of Yankee executives passed through the lobby of the Hyatt, their shoulders sagging, their mouths turned downward...In [the] fortieth-floor bar, sitting on couches that sat low to the ground, some in the ton office began to speculate on next steps after Judge left. Would it be better to sign the next-best free agent (at that moment, shortstop Carlos Correa)...Maybe the Yankees should sign the center fielder Brandon Nimmo and as much pitching as they could gather?
"This is how uncertain the future of the Yankees became at that moment...Cashman did not participate in this gathering. Wary of being seen by the public with a drink in his hand when news broke that Judge was signing elsewhere—how would that go over with an angry fan base?—he remained in the suite."
Yep.
This is, mind you, in a book that's well worth reading, but which can best be described as hagiographic whenever it turns to Brian Cashman. Nonetheless, we learn how thoroughly unprepared the Yankees were in dealing with what had been an obvious possibility for at least a couple years.
There was no Plan B. There was no plan A. There was just random speculation.
"Maybe we should sign Nimmo" (pictured above), a perfectly adequate outfielder who batted .224 this season, has an OPS over 200 points below Judge's, and is know mostly for running to first when he gets walks.
Hurrah.
You can rest assured that, with the Yankees, nothing has changed, and there is still no plan in place. If and when the youngest superstar in the majors—a superstar who already cost them a first-rate starter—walks off the team, the New York Yankees will, maybe, sign the closest thing to Brandon Nimmo.
Or maybe not. Maybe this year, they'll just count on us being satisfied with Spencer and The Martian, and save Hal even more money.
What a farce.
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4 comments:
Pretty damning if true. I know nothing about the author and his work, but it's hard to see how a reporter could have been keeping tabs on what the entire front office staff was up to the entire time - or was he only there to follow Cashman and research his hagiography?
It's hard to believe anyone could be so incompetent and foolish as to get themselves into this position (biggest star on the team about to walk away) without either fighting like heck to get themselves out of it (by signing him) or having some idea what they would do if it happened (what other talent they could bring in instead). But - it matches perfectly with what we have observed for years from the outside. As you say, no plan A, no plan B, just random speculation. So yes, I believe it.
But I do wonder what Brian Cashman was working on so diligently while he wasn't doing anything about the biggest problem facing his team. What were his people "quietly typing" up there? I'm guessing they were working out how to spin it if Judge signed elsewhere. Twilight of his career, bad attitude, poor ageing projections, never part of our longterm plans, and so on.
Andy Martino is a working reporter for SNY, I know, and I think some other news outlets. He was in San Diego for the MLB meetings, and seems to have been banging around the hotel, seeing what was going on. Makes sense—this was probably the biggest story for a New York-based reporter.
I do think you're right about what was going on up in the Cashman suite—and that's what scares and annoys the hell out of me. There's never any anticipation. Hal & Pal seem to think it's a matter of principle not to deal with any player until his contract actually expires.
This has been going on for decades, and it's completely senseless. They let over 700 lifetime wins walk off the team after the 2003 season (Clemens, Pettitte, Wells), without a thought about what was going to happen. If they lose Soto, their targeted replacement is that well-known star, Andy Bupkus.
That's sort of what I figured, that he was reporting on the winter meetings and was able to observe Team Cashman at various points. I just think he wouldn't have been able to see everything going on; surely strategy discussions (IF any were to occur) would take place behind closed doors without reporters present. Particularly while involved in tense negotiations, they wouldn't want the press getting hold of any inside information, unless they judged that leaking said information would help their position. As horribly flawed as Cashman's tenure has been, he has generally been good at keeping (unintentional) leaks to a minimum and avoiding tipping his hand. He's famous for making surprising, unexpected moves, not just dumpster diving and signing a washed up reclamation project no one else was even considering, but sometimes even big free agent signings or blockbuster trades where no one realised that the Yankees were even interested.
Of course, it's a lot easier to avoid tipping your hand if you're not holding any cards, which is what Martino's narrative suggests is often the case.
For me this World Series felt similar to 2003 - the team battled through the playoffs to win the pennant, then mailed it in and looked pathetic in the WS. Obviously, the 03 Yankees were a much better, more talented, better led, more professional team than this crew, and this year's Dodgers can hardly be compared to the wild card flash in the pan Marlins.
The offseason is at least starting off differently, with the Yankees retaining their ace rather than letting most of their rotation walk. What's Alex Rodriguez doing these days? Maybe he would be available to step in as manager when Boone injures himself?
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