We’re getting down to the nitty-gritty of the regular season, with just a month of games to go and the Yankees locked in a fierce divisional battle with the Blue Jays and Red Sox. They exit the month trailing Toronto by three games for the division lead while holding a half-game advantage over Boston for the top Wild Card (and three up on Seattle for the third). The end of August also means a return of the GM Approval Poll, but before we get into the final month of summer, let’s trace the course
of Brian Cashman’s popular opinion through the season.
Cashman’s approval rating failed to breach 50 percent through April in May despite a top-three offense and two-headed monster of Max Fried and Carlos Rodón carrying the team to a comfortable division lead. But then came the annual June swoon which sunk his approval rating to new depths. Although that poor form extending into an awful July that saw the Yankees leapfrogged by Toronto and Boston in the division, Cashman’s proactive Trade Deadline boosted his approval rating to a season-high 74 percent as fans gained renewed hope that the front office was going for it this year.
And so we arrive at August and quite possibly the worst imaginable stretch to exit the deadline. All three of the relivers acquired at the deadline imploded to lose an improbable game to the Marlins, and the Yankees would end up getting swept in Miami followed by consecutive series losses to the Rangers and Astros. But then came the Twins, ever the salve for the Yankees’ woes, and the team ripped off an impressive stretch to end the month with sweeps of the Cardinals, Rays, and Nationals and series wins over Minnesota and the White Sox sandwiched around an ugly, reality-check three losses to the Red Sox. With the 14-5 stretch to end the month, the Yankees climbed back from 6.5 games behind the Blue Jays to sit in second and within touching distance of the division lead as they stare down a stretch against Astros, Blue Jays, Tigers, and Red Sox in the first half of September — though the final couple weeks are lighter on paper.
We’ll start with the positives. Giancarlo Stanton came roaring off the IL to post his best stretch in pinstripes — .295/.374/.624 with 17 home runs, 46 RBIs and a 173 wRC+ in 55 games. Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham have been revelations in the outfield, Bellinger posing a 130 wRC+ on the year while Grisham has soared past his previous career high in home runs with 28. The Yankees boast five hitters (Judge, Bellinger, Grisham, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Ben Rice) with 20 or more home runs, and could end the year with eight if Stanton, Anthony Volpe, and Austin Wells continue on their current paces.
On the pitching side, Fried and Rodón have rebounded from rough stretches in June and July to resemble the dominant form of the opening months, Fried allowing one run over his last two starts while Rodón has gone five straight starts allowing two or fewer runs. Injuries to Clarke Schmidt and Ryan Yarbrough looked disastrous for the rotation, but Will Warren has pitched ably while the emergence of rookie Cam Schlittler and Luis Gil’s return from injury have been even more promising. Schlittler has a 2.61 ERA in nine starts and looks like a legitimate option to start in the postseason while Gil has gone five straight starts of at least five innings allowing two or fewer runs.
The Yankees have still given us plenty to worry about as they fight to make the playoffs. Anthony Volpe was recently mired in a 1-for-38 slump and leads the AL with 18 errors. However, the team continues to coddle him despite acquiring MLB stolen base leader José Caballero from the Rays. Aaron Judge remains limited to DH after missing time with a forearm flexor strain, and is only just starting to show signs of emerging from one of his least productive stretches of the season upon his return from the IL. The Yankees acquired Ryan McMahon and his not-inexpensive three years of team control from the Rockies, and though he has been solid on defense, a .214/.322/.337 triple slash line with just two homers and a 90 wRC+ leaves a bit to be desired.
The bullpen has looked slightly more stable of late, but remains an area of concern. David Bednar has emerged as the team’s closer while Luke Weaver’s recovery from a downturn in form and Fernando Cruz’s return from injury give the Yankees a stable trio for the final three innings. However, Devin Williams looks wholly unequipped for high leverage situation, yet Aaron Boone continues to throw him into the fire and Williams continues to wilt in the highest pressure spots (though a 1.08 ERA and 66.7-percent strikeout rate in his last nine appearances is encouraging). They also haven’t had as much luck with the other two relievers acquired alongside Bednar, Camilo Doval pitching to a 4.76 ERA and walking almost a batter per inning in pinstripes while Jake Bird was sent down to Triple-A after just three appearances.
That brings us to today’s task. Do you approve of the job Brian Cashman has done through the end of August? On one hand, the Yankees have reduced the deficit to three games in the AL East and sport by far the best run differential (+134) and wRC+ (118) in the AL. On the other hand, they dug themselves a mighty hole in June and July and haven’t shown that they are up to the test against fellow playoff teams with their toughest stretch of the season staring them right in the face. 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.
