The Yankees have played about as well as a broken record. They’ve sounded like one, too.
No matter how bad things get or how long the same problems persist, the team’s leadership often repeats the same excuses. This year, the list of greatest hits includes blaming injuries — which have plagued the team for years — and highlighting disappointing veterans. And that’s fair, because those factors have indisputably contributed to the Yankees’ shortcomings.
But the team also likes to note the competitiveness of the American League East, which should have only motivated the Yankees to put their best foot forward before the 2023 campaign began. The same can be said of last October’s embarrassing ALCS loss to the Astros.
However, the Yankees did not do that well before the IL stints and underachievers made their mark on a last-place team that’s now 3.5 games out of the final wild card spot.
Despite having baseball’s second-highest payroll, the Yankees entered the season without upgrading their offense and with holes in left field and at third base. Those glaring deficiencies would have ultimately hurt this team even if the likes of Anthony Rizzo, Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu were playing to their standards.
And it’s not like the injuries are a surprise.
The Yankees are extremely reliant on players who are known to get hurt, in addition to ones who have shown signs of decline. The depth required to survive their absences has been inadequate, with the club often turning to career fringe major leaguers and playing people at less than comfortable positions.
All of that is to say that poor roster construction should be blamed for this organization’s recent failures as much as anything else, if not more. Brian Cashman, the roster’s architect, acknowledged the flaws Wednesday, even if he spent more time talking about other issues.
“We’re here because we’ve played poorly,” the general manager said after the Yankees did next to nothing before Tuesday’s trade deadline. “We’ve underperformed in some cases and had some bad injuries, and that’s why we’re where we’re at right now. We were counting on more. So if those are decisions that fall on me, they’re on me for the roster, and they are. We certainly were counting on better play and less injuries. But we got the combination that put us in the position of 3.5 games back. We’ve got two months to do something about that and we’re going to find out.”
In fairness to Cashman, he is not completely unobstructed when it comes to building his rosters.
While he said that owner Hal Steinbrenner would have considered “anything” before the deadline, Cashman noted that the Yankees’ budget impacted his attempts to add a left fielder over the offseason.
“What’s been available from the wintertime with the decision we made within the budgets we had – I think this is our highest payroll we’ve had,” said Cashman, who has been hindered by luxury tax concerns before. “That’s what we had to show for it. We couldn’t push through any further unless we were able to subtract a significant amount to add a significant amount. We’ve relied on the kids and went with the competition going into spring training, and it’s led us to where we’re at right now.”
With that said, a payroll on the verge of $300 million should have gotten the Yankees a lot more than they have to show right now. They’re hoping it eventually yields more.
The Yankees have publicly maintained faith in the players they have while insisting a turnaround is possible. “Obviously, we’re in it to win it,” Cashman said, but Tuesday’s approach to the deadline hardly made that apparent.
Rather, the relative silence — and lack of direction — was deafening when it came to the front office’s belief in this roster.
Players, meanwhile, tried to avoid interpreting any messages sent by the brass.
“I really don’t look too far into it. Everybody in this clubhouse wants to win,” Aaron Judge said after the Yankees lost to the Rays. “If you get guys, you get guys. If you don’t, you don’t. It doesn’t matter. We got to keep pushing forward.”
Some fans, meanwhile, made their voices heard with “Fire Cashman” chants for the second consecutive evening.
It’s no surprise that some members of the Bronx faithful took aim at Cashman. They forcefully boo players and managers when they are at fault. The general manager’s roster construction — which hasn’t secured a championship since 2009 and has produced a .500 ballclub over the last 202 games — deserves the same treatment.
“We’ve got a shot still,” Cashman claimed. “Stay tuned. We’ll see if we can turn those jeers into cheers. So we’ll see. Obviously, it’s all going to depend on the wins and losses.”
()