Brian Cashman spoke at the GM Meetings on Tuesday, and was asked about the Yankees’ defensive performance in the World Series, which ended with a disastrous fifth inning in game five where five unearned runs erased a 5-0 lead.
Cashman didn’t seem to believe the Yanks needed a makeover in how they teach or prioritize defense moving forward, but did admit that the way the team played in the field in the Fall Classic was not nearly good enough to win a title.
“First and foremost, I acknowledge that we played poorly in the World Series,” Cashman said, via SNY. “We all saw that and unfortunately our A game didn't show up when it counted the most. I also think, objectively, if you take a step back and analyze who we played…those rosters were all constructed with players that do something in some category better than others. You have exceptional defenders who don’t hit as well, or really good hitters who don’t defend as well, and the combination plays out a certain way over the course of 162 and in the month of October, if you’re lucky to get there.
“We had some players that are better offensively than defensively, and we have players who are better defensively than they are offensively. I don’t think it’s anything other than I acknowledge that we did not play well in certain categories, especially in the World Series.”
Gleyber Torres made a costly mistake in game one, mishandling a throw from the outfield to allow the eventual tying run to advance to third in the eighth inning. He is now a free agent, and Cashman declined to get into Torres’ defensive struggles when asked on Tuesday, but he did thank Torres for his time in pinstripes, while noting that the door is not officially closed on the free agent returning to the Bronx. But if Torres is indeed done in New York, Cashman noted options such as “importing” a third baseman and moving Jazz Chisholm to second base, where he has more experience, or promoting a Caleb Durbin from the minors, which could help the infield defense.
“Every year, the season ends, you do your best to attack areas of weakness…we’re back at it,” Cashman said. “That’s the nature of the beast. That’s how it always is.
“I think it’s more fair to say that we just played poorly in that series, and underperformed. I think we underperformed in that series, more so than somehow, ‘That team was lucky to get to the World Series.’ We had a good team. Unfortunately, we didn’t play our best in the World Series, and we played a good team.”
Asked about Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly’s viral comments about the Yankees “kicking the ball around” and unsurprisingly losing the series due to their own mistakes, Cashman noted that he doesn’t believe the overwhelming thought around their World Series opponent was that the Yankees were a bad defensive team that was doomed to slip up eventually, and it was more Kelly having some kind of “personal” issue with the Bombers.
“I heard that. I also know people with the Dodgers, so I’ve got some internal conversations. I certainly got feedback on it,” Cashman said. “I think it’s more representative of some specific players rather than the overall group. In Joe's case, it feels like for some reason it's a little personal the way he's out talking like he has. It feels like it’s more personal than anything else. I can’t make much more than that.
“They won, so I can just say what I just said.”