There comes a time when a struggling organization determines a new voice is needed.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman reached that conclusion on Saturday when he sought permission from owner Hal Steinbrenner to fire hitting coach Dillon Lawson. The decision became official shortly after the fourth-place Yankees lost their final game of the first half on Sunday. They’re 49-42 this season.

Lawson’s firing marked the first time Cashman, more than two decades into his job, has dismissed a coach mid-season.

“I wanted to give things a chance to work its way through, but I feel honestly at this point, it’s not going to improve – at least as it sits,” Cashman said, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. “It doesn’t mean the offense couldn’t have gotten better organically, but I feel like we’ll be better served with a new messenger.”

The messages will now come from Sean Casey, who will take on the role of hitting coach, per multiple reports. The Yankees planned on retaining assistant hitting coaches Casey Dykes and Brad Wilkerson as of Sunday.

There are plenty of stats that support Cashman’s decision to fire Lawson, the Yankees’ fifth hitting coach in the last 10 years.

Lawson, in his second season as the team’s lead hitting coach, oversaw an offense that is 29th in hits (690), 28th in average (.231), 26th in on-base percentage (.300) and 21st in wRC+. Those numbers got even worse after Aaron Judge tore a ligament in his right big toe on June 3.

The Yankees are 14-17 since then. Over that stretch, they rank last in hits (218), average (.218) and on-base-percentage (.288); 29th in RBI (105); 28th in runs (117); 27th in wRC+ (85); 26th in slugging (.379); 25th in fWAR (1.7); and 24th in K% (20.3).

But it’s not Lawson’s fault that Judge got hurt. The same goes for other absences that the lineup – heavily reliant on oft-injured and veteran players – has had to endure.

Cashman, of course, is the one who assembled that lineup and failed to upgrade a group that is nearly identical to the one that was exposed in last year’s playoffs. He’s also the one who acquired or re-signed high-priced players like DJ LeMahieu, Josh Donaldson, Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton, who have all underachieved this season, to put it generously.

While Lawson may not have been the best fit for those former All-Stars and MVPs – all of whom have battled injuries over the last two years – he didn’t make them forget how to hit, and he didn’t construct a roster that is dependent on them. He did, however, garner plenty of praise for his work with prospects when he was the Yankees’ minor league hitting coordinator from 2019-2021.

Still, Lawson took accountability for the offensive woes. For example, he recently fielded over 10 minutes’ worth of questions from reporters in the middle of a doubleheader in Boston.

But the Yankees found a fresh face – or a partial fall guy – necessary. The hope is that Casey will provide increased relatability thanks to his extensive major league playing experience, which Lawson lacked.

But what if he doesn’t and the offense remains stagnant? What happens if the Yankees fail to make the playoffs? Who else will find themselves on the hot seat?

Steinbrenner, who is financing the second-highest payroll in baseball, has already said that he will ask “tough questions” if the Yankees don’t reach or underperform in the playoffs, pending good health. With that in mind, it’s interesting that Cashman said “we’ll be better served with a new messenger” when discussing Lawson’s exit.

The general manager has held his job since 1998 despite not winning a World Series since 2009. Then there’s Aaron Boone, who is in his sixth season as the Yankees’ manager. While he’s guided successful regular season teams, Boone’s squads have come up short in the postseason.

Some fans have become relentlessly vocal amid the championship drought.

If the Yankees continue falling shy of expectations, Cashman could find himself having another conversation with Steinbrenner about Boone’s future at the end of the season. Or perhaps Steinbrenner will decide that multiple changes are required, thus sparking searches for a skipper and a GM, in addition to revamping the coaching staff.

Those decisions are far from imminent, but the Yankees’ present trajectory and recent history are enough to make one wonder if Cashman’s case for a “new messenger” applies to anyone with more sway than a second-year coach.

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