Brian Cashman gives awkward endorsement of Aaron Boone: ‘We made this bed, and we’re going to sleep in it’

BUFFALO, N.Y. — There was no fiery speech and heads weren’t rolling. Yankees GM Brian Cashman knows he cannot say anything to explain or excuse the team's dismal start to the season. And he knows he has to fix it.

“Talk is cheap. No one really cares about all the hard work, all the good intentions. All they care about, and understandably so, is the results and the results just have failed so far,” Cashman said before Tuesday night’s game against the Blue Jays at Sahlen Field. “We need to obviously get on that winning track, and get our numbers where they belong in that winning column.

“And become relevant again, because right now we have not been the relevant powerhouse in the American League” Cashman said. “We’ve been everything but.”

Cashman gave reassurance, if not a guarantee, to manager Aaron Boone and his staff, who have come under scrutiny as the Yankees are off to their worst start through 65 games at 33-32 since the 2016 season. Cashman has never made in-season changes to his managers or coaching staff in his tenure as Yankees GM, he made it clear that he doesn’t believe that’s the answer.

“I think losing invites scrutiny on us all, and I best answer that as we’re in this together. We made this bed, and we’re going to sleep in it,” Cashman said. “And we’re going to make sure that we find a way to fix this together.

“I believe in the same coaching staff and same manager that’s had a lot of success here. And so ultimately, we are charged with finding a way to fix what’s ailing us, and the ultimate responsibility on that is me. I’ve told our personnel that I don’t intend to let us fail. I will find a way to try to get us back online. I believe that every player in that room is capable of more than they provided, in some cases, not all. And they do, too.”

Cashman said specifically on Tuesday that, unlike that 2016 season, when he did a quick rebuild when he got Gleyber Torres and Clint Frazier in trades, he plans to be a buyer as next month’s trade deadline nears.

“We’re in a spot that we didn’t expect to be in. And I’m open to all ideas to improve the situation yesterday,” Cashman said. “I feel like we’ve got a long stretch still ahead of us in the season. And that’s encouraging. But it’s discouraging that we’ve created a pole position that’s more difficult to run the race. So, you know, we have a longer stretch of games, but we’ve created a sprint with those longer stretches of games.”

A team built to win on power, the Yankees' offense has been awful. The pitching was strong to start the season but has faltered since, with MLB set to make things tougher by cracking down on sticky stuff.

The defense has been mediocre and baserunning has been atrocious. The Yanks are limited by Giancarlo Stanton, who has not played in the field since 2019, and that all of their power hitters are right-handed.

They have also been hit by injury, with Luke Voit playing just 12 games after starting the season on the injured list with a knee injury and now rehabbing from a strained oblique. The Yankees also lost solid center-field defense and their only power hitter from the left side in switch-hitting Aaron Hicks, out for the season with a wrist injury that required surgery.

“Obviously we’re missing Aaron Hicks,” Cashman said. “It is an area that we didn’t intend on dealing with, and it’s certainly an area that I will explore whether we’re able to solve that, and that’s a different story. But, I believe that, yes, center field is an area that if I could improve that area, I would.”

This past winter, Cashman made moves that were clearly budget-conscious as the team pressed up against the luxury tax threshold.

While he refrains from talking about the Yankees’ obvious limitations, he said he will not let financial commitments prevent him from bringing potential trades to ownership.

“The ownership here has poured great resources into this roster already. They’re not getting what they deserve with what they’re paying for this roster so far,” Cashman said. “But I’ll bring to Hal Steinbrenner and his family all recommendations that include that we’re going to have opportunities that present themselves that are money related. And, ultimately, decisions will get made then. So I know what our preferences are and I know what we’re trying to accomplish.”