Poll: 2024 Year-in-Review for Brian Cashman

Yesterday at 04:00 PM

A belated look back at the GM's standing among the fan base in 2024.

With all the excitement surrounding New Year's festivities, we forgot to do our final GM approval poll for 2024. In lieu of a belated post for the month of December, we thought now would be a good time to do a broader year-in-review for Brian Cashman. We can look back on how his approval rating fluctuated from the start of last year to our final approval poll from November to track what the fans expect from the GM and the team he assembled.

Cashman started the year at 32 percent through the month of February, his most recent move signing Marcus Stroman to a two-year, $37 million contract with a vesting option for 2026. However, the team had just missed out on signing Yoshinobu Yamamoto and reigning NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell, balked at the trade cost to acquire Dylan Cease and watched Corbin Burnes get traded to the Orioles, so the Stroman signing felt understandably underwhelming. And in hindsight, Stroman was left off the postseason roster and the Yankees were out-pitched in the starting pitching department by the Dodgers, magnifying the need for one of those higher ceiling arms.

Following an Opening Day weekend sweep of the Astros, Cashman saw his approval soar to 53 percent for March. Winter trade acquisition Juan Soto was making an instant impact as were fellow offseason additions Stroman and Alex Verdugo. However, with Gerrit Cole on the shelf with elbow inflammation and Snell, Cease, and Burnes joining their respective teams for modest free agent or trade costs, one wondered how much of a wasted opportunity this would prove.

That approval dropped back down to 34 percent for April, thanks to an inconsistent offense getting shut out five times in the first 31 games — half of the total for the entire 2023 season — with Aaron Judge memorably struggling alongside Gleyber Torres and Anthony Rizzo. However, they were still just one game back of first at 19-12 thanks to impressive bounce backs from Carlos Rodón and Nestor Cortes, Marcus Stroman and Clarke Schmidt exceeding expectations, and Soto, Verdugo, and Anthony Volpe carrying the offense.

May brought the biggest bump in Cashman's approval, all the way up to 71 percent. It took Judge a month but he found his groove while Soto continued to mash and Volpe and Verdugo remained productive in their support roles. Luis Gil earned AL Pitcher of the Month after winning all six of his starts in May, posting a 0.70 ERA and 44 strikeouts while allowing just 14 hits in 38.2 innings — a stretch which likely wound up winning him AL Rookie of the Year at the end of the season. The Yankees finished the month atop the division at 40-19, tied with the Phillies for the most wins in baseball.

As good as things felt in May, the vibes tanked following a dismal June. Judge and Soto were the lone bright spots on the roster. Volpe followed his hot start with a major slump while Torres was still yet to get going. Rizzo, Schmidt, Giancarlo Stanton, Ian Hamilton, Cody Poteet, Nick Burdi, and Jonathan Loáisiga all found themselves on the IL. Rodon had regressed back to 2023 levels and Cole looked rusty in his first two starts off the IL. All of this tanked Cashman's approval back down to 34 percent at the end of the month.

July didn't do much to improve the fortunes of the team or its GM. The pluses included Judge and Soto staying hot alongside the newly-acquired Jazz Chisholm Jr. — who launched seven home runs in his first 12 games with the club — as well as rebounds from Volpe, Verdugo, and Torres post-All-Star break. The negatives included balking at trades for Jack Flaherty or Garrett Crochet to bolster an ailing rotation, the only Deadline Day action being minor moves for relievers Mark Leiter Jr. and Enyel de los Santos. They finished the month with a losing record (11-13), causing Cashman's approval to stagnate at 33 percent.

However, if you thought that rating was low, you'll shudder to see how far it fell following a listless August. They dropped consecutive series to the Nationals and Cardinals at the end of the month, that recency effect likely playing into the fan's six percent approval of their GM. For all the disappointment of a summer that saw the team go 39-39 in the months of June, July, and August, they still found themselves with the best record in the AL at 79-58, though this was more a reflection of the Orioles' own struggles than a measure of the Yankees' success.

Fortunately for Cashman, his team was able to clinch the AL East and the best record in the AL thanks to a September turnaround. Torres was thriving in his new leadoff role ahead of the ever-dominant pair of Soto and Judge. Luke Weaver had supplanted Clay Holmes as the closer and was carving up opposing lineups while Schmidt and Gil returned from injury just in time for the postseason. Things were looking up for the team, which is reflected in Cashman's approval rebounding to 31 percent.

October brought a moment that an entire generation of Yankees fans had not yet had the opportunity to witness: a return to the World Series. They brushed aside AL Central opponents in the ALDS and ALCS, losing just one game apiece to the Royals and Guardians, to take on the Dodgers in the Fall Classic. Any hope of a triumphant return was quickly dashed, the Dodgers outclassing the Yankees in every facet of the game. Judge went AWOL, the Yankees went 9-for-45 with runners in scoring position, stranding 43 runners across the five games of the series, and the Dodgers' deadline acquisitions played huge roles while a pitching staff that had been so good for the Yankees hit a wall. The loss to the Dodgers sunk Cashman's approval to 19 percent with the biggest offseason in recent memory ahead of them.

November was a nervous waiting period for Yankees fans as the Soto sweepstakes intensified. Each week seemed to bring a new threshold in salary negotiations, figures soaring from $500 million to $600 million and beyond. The Yankees were limited in the business they could conduct while holding their breath for Soto's decision, though they did watch Judge win his second AL MVP award, Gil wrap up RoY honors, and Volpe finish as a Gold Glove finalist. The lack of other movement and the lingering bitter taste of World Series defeat therefore kept Cashman's approval down at 18 percent.

That brings us to today's task. Do you approve of the job Brian Cashman did in 2024? While the team did return to the World Series for the first time in 15 years, it resulted in a humbling loss at the hands of the Dodgers, the year ending on a particularly sour note with Soto signing with the crosstown rivals. The polarizing GM certainly elicits stronger feelings than can be captured in a one-word response — you may feel a question such as the one being posed requires more nuance, greater elaboration, or a wider selection of options than just a "yes" or a "no," however for the sake of this exercise, a binary question works best.

Please vote in the poll below and let us know! We'll revisit the results in a month.