Former Yankee reliever Zack Britton made waves within Yankees Universe after announcing his retirement from baseball earlier this month, and opining that his former team needs to get back to signing the “best players,” and make the Bronx a desirable destination once again.
On Tuesday, he joined The Show podcast with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman of the New York Post, and stood by the work of Brian Cashman while admitting that there seems to be a disconnect within the organization when it comes to implementing analytics with its players.
“He’s a great baseball guy,” Britton said of Cashman. “I’m not so sure you’re gonna find a better baseball guy. A guy who has experienced multiple ways to win championships. He communicated great with me.
“I think with Brian, it might be just needing to blend the two a little more…I only know what I saw as a player and what I’m exposed to…I don’t really know what their discussions are. I just know as a player there, a lot of times in the clubhouse, I feel like there was this disconnect between some of the things we were presented with, and what we were seeing on the field as players. Sometimes that creates that rift, which is not what you want.”
When it comes to analytics and messaging to the players, Britton said he felt there was a lack of harmony, which was apparent in the clubhouse. But he doesn’t put that on Brian Cashman or Aaron Boone.
“I felt that sometimes, the two just weren’t connecting well,” Britton said. “What the players were saying, ‘we should be doling this, this has been working well,’ sometimes, the way that was implemented through the data didn’t line up, and I don’t think I’m the only player who feels that way.
“I don’t think that’s Brian Cashman or Aaron Boone. I think it’s an organizational thing. Like I said, Brian has won in the game through all these different transitions, whether it be the shift, or how data is interpreted and applied to signing free agents or trades. I think he’s the right guy. He’s a great baseball guy.”