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Following a snow-filled winter, we’re starting to feel that baseball buzz back in the air. Pitchers and catchers have reported to the Yankees spring training complex, and based on recent social media posts, a significant contingent of the position players are already down in Tampa as well. Earlier in the week, we surveyed fans on a pair of questions, asking whether they approved of general manager Brian Cashman as well as their overall impression of the Yankees’ offseason.
Let’s take a look at the results of those polls now that spring training is here. First, we’ll start with Cashman’s approval rating.
Yankees fans overwhelmingly disapprove of the job Cashman in doing, with roughly one in six voters lending their approval. The GM always tends to poll poorly when we put these surveys out throughout the season, but it is rare to see his approval rating sink this low. The lingering disappointment over the Yankees’ early exit from the playoffs surely plays a part, as does the somewhat self-satisfied approach to the offseason.
In largely running it back from last season, Cashman has adopted a ‘good enough’ stance toward the roster: the team as constructed both last year and this was and is good enough to make the playoffs and that’s good enough for him and ownership. It’s a direction they are entitled to take while also acknowledging that it falls well short of the attitude many fans wish they would take toward running the team.
We also asked voters to assign a letter grade to the Yankees’ offseason. Like with Cashman, it appears the fanbase is unimpressed.
Based on the distribution of letter grades, I think it would be fair to say that Yankees fans would give the team a D+ on their offseason business. The majority of voters assigned them a D or worse while only eleven percent feel satisfied with the moves they made.
The decision to run it back is certainly defensible — the Yankees boasted the best offense in baseball (119 wRC+, 5.24 runs/game) last season and while expected to take a step back, are still projected as a top-5 offense in baseball (4.72 runs/game). What’s more, FanGraphs projects them to win the division with 86 wins, while PECOTA pegs them for the third-best record in the AL (88-74) behind the Mariners and Blue Jays.
It’s also defensible to wish the team had more ambition when it comes to building the roster. Plenty of impact starters were available this winter via free agency or trade, yet the Yankees took a conservative approach to reinforcing their injured rotation, Cashman predictably likening the returns of Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón from elbow surgeries to big ticket trades. The bullpen also lost two of its highest leverage arms, replaced by a Rule 5 lottery ticket (Cade Winquest) and a borderline DFA candidate (Angel Chivilli).
There is a lot of pressure on Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham to repeat their top percentile outcomes from last season, each now a year older. There is no telling whether Anthony Volpe’s shoulder injury was the culprit for the plummeting in defensive ability, while we also have three straight seasons of poor offensive production. And perhaps most puzzlingly, the Yankees reunited with Paul Goldschmidt despite Ben Rice emerging as one of the most promising slugging first basemen in baseball. Cashman lauded Goldschmidt’s presence as creating flexibility for Rice to play backup catcher. However, you would think the best road forward for Rice’s development would be to get him the most reps at first as possible rather than split time with a platoon partner while also sparing him the wear and tear of playing catcher.
It is disheartening to see how few of our surveyed fans are particularly excited heading into the 2026 season. However, I cannot help but feel a palpable sense of anticipation now that I am seeing pictures and videos of the team down in Florida, and it is those positive feelings of renewed hope that I choose to focus on now that baseball is back.
