The Yankees hope to have a replacement for fired hitting coach Dillon Lawson named by the time their second half begins in Colorado on Friday – but it won’t be either assistant, Casey Dykes or Brad Wilkerson, or anyone else within the organization, for that matter.
“We’re going to go outside and import somebody,” GM Brian Cashman said in a conference call Sunday night, shortly after the Yankees announced Lawson’s dismissal. “We have not offered that job anywhere, but I’ve tried to contain my conversations to a small group of people to find someone we feel would be best suited for us. I’m looking for a unique personality to connect with players as we sprint here in the second half and try to make up some ground.”
Several times during the conference call, Cashman used words that boiled down to “don’t shoot the messenger in Lawson,” even though that’s what the Yankees did in reality by dismissing the hitting coach.
That’s because, as he also said several times in the call, the Yankees offense has underperformed, and with a “sprint to the finish” coming, the GM is hopeful a new voice can help “the players we have find higher ground.”
A new voice, yes, but not a new philosophy, necessarily.
“Since I’ve been here, we’ve consistently had high levels of offensive production, and we’re not at that level right now,” Cashman said. “Not a change in philosophy, but there might be some subtle adjustments, because the results are not that Yankees DNA we’re used to seeing. Sometimes, you hear things in a different way, and the lightbulb goes on and you find nirvana. I feel like hopefully, by changing a voice here, we can ease the pressure valve a little bit and reset the clock., and hopefully hit the ground running in the second half with a bit of an adjustment to the staff.”
Cashman wouldn’t necessarily say whether his preference was a former pro player like current assistant Wilkerson, or someone like Lawson or other assistant Dykes, who are career coaches after finishing their college eligibilities – saying only to “stay tuned” and that he could get into it more once the hire is made.
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“I don’t want to throw out what I’m thinking,” Cashman said. “I’ve talked to Aaron Boone and we want a certain focus on people who possess certain abilities in this sprint as we move forward. I would never hire someone Boone isn’t lockstep in line with and comfortable with. It’s a great opportunity for someone to come in here, and we have a great opportunity despite where we are in the standings.”
Cashman had been mulling a move for some time, and finally called Hal Steinbrenner with the idea on Saturday; the owner gave his blessing, and the move was made Sunday – but would he have done so if he didn’t already have somewhat of a head start on the process, and would he have said he hoped to have a hire within five days if that wasn’t the case?
“I had a list of people I started focusing on, and there were people suggested to me if I was ever looking to make a change,” Cashman said, “so I do have a comfort level that between now and Colorado I’ll be in a safe harbor with a new hire.”
Dykes and Wilkerson will be retained to help that new coach hit the ground running, as there are just 71 games left in the Yankees’ season and they are currently just one game out of the AL East cellar and xxx games out of a Wild Card spot, but is this too big of an ask for someone to wave a magic wand and fix a Yankees offense that has been one of MLB’s worst?
“Maybe, but you can’t be afraid. If you can give us something that van be an upside, you have to run with it,” Cashman said. “That’s why we’re keeping Casey and Brad here, because we think they can be part of the solution and help whomever we onboard learn what they’ve been working on and close the learning curve down. We have a lot of people who care a lot, but we haven’t been getting the results we need, so we’re making an adjustment. People see this club’s potential to play to the very end, so it’s an attractive position, and people see the opportunity before us, so I’m looking forward to hopefully finalize something before the opening of the second half.”
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