Hard to believe that we are already beyond Memorial Day and the one-third mark of the MLB season. The first two months have flown by, the Yankees looking well positioned with the second-best record in the AL. As the calendar flips over to June, it’s time to evaluate GM Brian Cashman and the performance of his team in May.
Cashman entered the month of May polling at a relatively robust 41 percent approval rating when in recent years his approval has tended to hover in the low-to-mid 30s at the end of April.
It helped that his team was in first place, powered by the two-headed monster of Aaron Judge and Ben Rice as well as a historically good starting rotation. However, things took a turn for the inconsistent once we got into May.
They started the month well enough, with a sweep of the Orioles and a series win over the Rangers. But then they got swept by the Brewers and lost consecutive series to the Orioles and Mets culminating in the soul crushing walk-off loss in Queens. A series against the Blue Jays brought a hard-fought respite but a subsequent series split with the Rays laid bare the frailty of the offense. That being said, the month-ending road trip could not have come at a better time, the Yankees sweeping the Royals and taking two out of three in Sacramento after having dropped a series to the A’s in April.
I think we have enough evidence to say that this Yankees offense is prone to blowing hot or cold, reflected by the overall streakiness of the team — they have three winning streaks of at least five games but also a pair of losing streaks of at least four games. They have scored at least 23 runs in seven different series but also have a pair of streaks of over 20 innings each where they failed to score. There were worries that the yearly June Swoon had arrived early in May, but their play to wrap up the month did enough to assuage those fears.
They might have fared better in May had Judge not “slumped” to a 126 wRC+ in the month, but that is the time when you look to his teammates to carry the captain through a temporary downturn in form. Rice also cooled off from a 212 wRC+ to 156 in May. It shows how much that pair was propping up the offense through the first month, and will continue to be relied upon as the principal run producers of the team.
The main issue has been the pair of black holes at the bottom of the lineup. Austin Wells and J.C. Escarra have combined to produce the second-worst wRC+ (58) of any group of catchers in the AL ahead of only the Angels. Ryan McMahon is 24th out of 30 qualified third basemen with his 75 wRC+, but at least has shown the faintest stirrings of life in May as opposed to the pair of catchers while also being part of a platoon alongside the inspired re-signing of Amed Rosario and his 129 wRC+.
Fortunately, other contributors have stepped up in the lineup. Cody Bellinger is doing his best Kyle Tucker impression since re-upping over the winter with a 140 wRC+ and 2.2 fWAR. Paul Goldschmidt has been something of a savior after Giancarlo Stanton and Jasson Domínguez went down with injury, stabilizing the DH role with his six home runs and 140 wRC+ in 34 games. Anthony Volpe returned from offseason shoulder surgery with a newly disciplined approach that has allowed him to post a .375 OBP and 128 wRC+ in 13 games. Trent Grisham and Jazz Chisholm Jr. have turned around slow April starts to resemble the lineup stalwarts they were last season, Grisham posting a 131 wRC+ and Jazz a 126 wRC+ in May.
The rotation has remained exemplary despite losing Max Fried to an elbow injury. Cam Schlittler is the early favorite for AL Cy Young with his 1.50 ERA, 1.90 FIP, and AL-leading 2.9 fWAR. Gerrit Cole hasn’t missed a beat since making his long awaited return from Tommy John rehab and steps right back into his spot as staff ace. Carlos Rodón has posted back-to-back one-run outings after a pair of rocky starts in his return from offseason elbow surgery. Will Warren and Ryan Weathers remain sturdy back of the rotation options.
The bullpen remains the weakest link. We’re all still scarred from the three-run homer David Bednar gave up to Tyrone Taylor. Even Tim Hill and Brent Headrick have gotten touched up recently after strong starts to the season. The bright side is that reinforcements might be on the way. Yovanny Cruz opened eyes in his brief cameo and should be one of the first options back up if he can improve his strike throwing. One of Warren or Weathers will likely be pushed into the bullpen by Fried’s return. And perhaps most excitingly, Cashman floated the possibility that they could call up top pitching prospect Carlos Lagrange and his 103 mph fastball to reinforce the bullpen at some point.
That brings us to today’s task. Do you approve of the job Brian Cashman has done through the end of May? On one hand, the Yankees boast the best offense and pitching staff in the AL by several metrics. On the other hand, they sit a game-and-a-half behind the Rays in the division and often look just as liable to be shut out or suffer a bullpen meltdown as they are to turn in a dominant win. 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.
