Injuries have been a frustrating and consistent narrative for the Yankees in recent years, beginning in 2019 with their improbable “Next Man Up” squad winning 103 games and reaching the ALCS.
The Yanks haven’t experienced anything near that level of success since, but the injuries have continued, and 2023 was no different, as Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, Nestor Cortes, Frankie Montas, and others missed extended time, while the likes of Giancarlo Stanton, Jonathan Loaisiga, and DJ LeMahieu battled injury, or tried to find their groove after an injury, as well.
Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Brian Cashman dismissed the notion that injuries are an “excuse” for the Yankees falling well short of their ultimate goal.
“If you don't make that a significant reason, it is,” Cashman said. “You want to say it's an excuse, it's a fact. You want me to sit there and say, essentially, that didn’t happen, and us missing certain guys along the way didn’t affect us in the win column, I can’t do that.”
Asked if injuries were a topic of discussion during the organization’s meetings in Florida, which Hal Steinbrenner said got contentious at times, Cashman wouldn’t bite, but he clearly maintains that the team has had bad injury luck, though there doesn’t seem to be much commitment to exploring why the Yanks are consistently dealing with so many IL stints.
“You’re asking me to put you in that room. I’m not doing that,” Cashman said. “We had organizational meetings. They did get heated. We had a lot of discussions. Some stuff we agreed on, some we disagreed on, and we unpacked a lot of stuff. Some of it, we’re making adjustments, and some of it, we actually recommitted to. I don’t know what else to tell you.
“It doesn’t matter what I say, what Hal says, what Boone says. It matters what we do. At the end of the day, it’s all about wins.”