Yankees general manager Brian Cashman will face plenty of pointed questions at GM meetings
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman during a news conference at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 16. Credit: Ed Murray
Two years ago this month, Brian Cashman established a personal gold standard for news conference performance art at the annual general managers' meetings in Scottsdale, Arizona.
With his club coming off a playoff-less 82-80 season that Cashman at season’s end characterized as “a disaster,” the Yankees' general manager — loaded for bear at the first question — came out firing in a memorable gathering that lasted just over an hour.
His target was the increasing number of critics of his organization and how it operates, his ire raised primarily by what he deemed unfair criticisms levied at assistant general manager Michael Fishman’s uber-influential analytics department.
At the 2024 meetings, with his team coming off its first World Series appearance since 2009, Cashman spoke for roughly the same time period. But even with almost every question coming with a negative bent — as had been the case the year before — there was little anger.
What should we expect when Cashman meets with the media at this week’s general managers' meetings, which get underway Monday in Las Vegas?
More than likely it will be the less fiery version, something that was on display Oct. 16 when Cashman held his end-of-season news conference a week after the Yankees fell to the Blue Jays in a four-game ALDS.
During that availability, a noticeably somber-sounding Cashman had a relatively flat tone as he answered questions about the sort of earlier-than-expected postseason exit that has become the team's norm.
He will get some repeat questions, ones about another playoff flameout, in Las Vegas, but most of them will be looking ahead rather than looking back. And there is no shortage of topics to cover.
There is, for one, an uncertain outfield situation. Cody Bellinger, who had a standout first season for the Yankees, is a free agent. There is mutual interest in a reunion, but Bellinger will have plenty of other suitors and the Yankees could be outbid for his services. Outfielder Kyle Tucker, whom the Yankees tried to pry from the Astros last offseason before he ended up getting traded to the Cubs, is a free agent and will be on their radar — but there will be competition for him, too.
Related: How much do the Yankees truly believe in Jasson Dominguez? Are they comfortable enough putting the 22-year-old, whose playing time dried up in the second half of last season as he never really looked comfortable in his new position of leftfield, in the outfield full-time?
The Yankees did extend the qualifying offer — worth about $22 million — to centerfielder Trent Grisham, who is coming off a career year.
Also lurking is top outfield prospect Spencer Jones, who must be added to the 40-man roster this winter so he cannot be plucked in the Rule 5 draft (which the 24-year-old absolutely would be) by another club. Jones finished last season in Triple-A, a step away from the big leagues, yes, but is still dealing with some of the same questions about his plate discipline that accompanied him at the start of his climb through the minor leagues.
There also is the issue of the bullpen. Two of its top arms — Luke Weaver and Devin Williams — are free agents and, because of price and the Yankees' general policy over the years of not paying top dollar for relievers, probably will pitch elsewhere in 2026. The Yankees exercised their option on effective lefthander Tim Hill but will be on the lookout for additional arms for a unit that, after being among the best in the sport during the first 2 ½ months of the season, never regained that level of consistency.
As the group currently stands, its main pieces are David Bednar, Camilo Duval, Fernando Cruz, Jake Bird and Hill.
Cashman often repeats the time-worn axiom that “you can never have enough pitching.” And with Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt and Carlos Rodon all set to start next season on the injured list (Cole and Schmidt are recovering from Tommy John surgery and Rodon underwent surgery on his left elbow to remove loose bodies and shave down a bone spur), adding a starter can’t be ruled out.
Additionally, did the Yankees see enough from the hard-hitting Ben Rice to stick him at first base full-time next season, or will they explore market possibilities there?
It is unlikely that any of the aforementioned questions/issues — or the unmentioned others surrounding the 2026 roster — will be answered concretely in Las Vegas. Rarely do moves of significance occur during the general managers' meetings.
Still, groundwork for those kind of moves can get laid there. The Yankees’ 2023 winter meetings deal with the Padres for Juan Soto is one example.
Cashman well over a decade ago called the general managers' meetings “a necessary evil,” something he uttered in a moment of levity.
For the oft-criticized GM in recent offseasons, those moments have been few and far between.
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
More Yankees headlines
