The Yankees starting pitching will be under immense scrutiny in the playoffs.
New York's rotation has been widely labeled as the team's weak spot, and that theory will be tested as the Twins come to the Bronx to start the ALDS. Brian Cashman and company tried to add another pitcher at the trade deadline, but they were unable to do so.
Cashman joined Mike Francesa on Friday live at the Hard Rock Café at Yankee Stadium. Francesa asked if the inaction at the deadline represented a conscious choice to go with the guys the team already had. Cashman said it wasn't, and he spoke of his frustration at the deadline.
"I'd say frustration, because our job constantly is to find a way to improve ourselves, but not be stupid by doing it," Cashman said on WFAN. "At the end of the day, this was our last chance, pencils down, to get another deal, or deals, done to find ways to improve a club that was already projected to be 100 wins. So, going into it, it's hard to improve upon a team that's going to win 100 … but it doesn't matter. Your job is still to find a way to get it done."
He didn't specifically mention the team's starting pitching, but it's probably fair to assume that's what Cashman was talking about. The Yankees general manager was honest about his desire to add another pitcher as the deadline came closer.
Now, the playoffs are here. James Paxton will get the ball for the Yankees in Game 1, but there was quite a bit of debate about the team's rotation entering the postseason. If New York's pitching doesn't get the job done, there will be criticism of the front office's inability to add a pitcher at the deadline.
Cashman admitted that he was disappointed about not being able to add more ahead of the October baseball that matters most.
"The only thing I'm proud of is that we had discipline and did not do bad deals, or stupid deals, or deals that were just to cover my butt so I don't get roasted in the press … it wasn't because we didn't want to do something. We definitely wanted to do something, but our process had me stand down, and I'm glad we had the discipline to do that. But I'm disappointed at the same time that I couldn't add more people to the party."
"We had our targets, but all the targets that we had, that we would have stepped up and paid a lot for, they didn't get moved because in theory they weren't really available, or teams changed their position on their availability."
Click on the audio player above to listen to Mike Francesa's full interview with Brian Cashman.
