Yankees give GM Brian Cashman a three-year extension, fire two coaches
The New York Yankees have a lot to figure out before the first pitch of their 2015 season is thrown: Who’s going to replace Derek Jeter at shortstop? Where does a returning-from-suspension Alex Rodriguez fit in with the team? Who will the Yankees get to improve their pitching staff? And, most importantly, how can they get back into the postseason after missing out the past two seasons?
Yankees ownership is confident in the man who will be making those decisions. They announced Friday that they’ve given general manager Brian Cashman a three-year contract extension.
Cashman’s current contract, a three-year deal signed in 2011, was set to expire in November, and the Yankees made keeping Cashman No. 1 on their offseason to-do list. He’s been the team’s GM since 1998, the third longest-tenured GM in MLB. The Yankees like to sign him in three-year increments — this is his fifth three-year extension. The last contract paid him $9 million for three seasons.
The Yankees have won four World Series under Cashman’s watch. The first three came in his first three years on the job. The other, in 2009. His Yankees clubs have only missed the playoffs three times, these past two seasons plus 2008.
It looks like the blame for the recent disappointing seasons will fall on two Yankees coaches. Kevin Long, hitting coach since 2007, and Mick Kelleher, first-base coach for six seasons, were both let go Friday, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.
Cashman has survived the scrutiny, even though his $438 million roster overhaul last winter — including the additions to Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran and Masahiro Tanaka — didn’t turn things around as expected. Tanaka was great before he was injured. The others underwhelmed.
Cashman made a few beneficial trades late in the season that improved the team, acquiring free-agents-to-be Brandon McCarthy and Chase Headley, plus utilityman Martin Prado, who is signed through 2016.
There are a lot of decisions looming for Cashman, as he hopes to get back into the playoffs in 2015. There’s a free-agent market that will include pitchers Jon Lester, Max Scherzer and James Shields, plus hitters Nelson Cruz, Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez. Will Cashman and the Yankees keep on spending? Or hope their prior investments pencil out in the future?
The last time the Yankees missed the playoffs three straight seasons was 1991-1993.
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Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz