Yankees July 2015 approval poll: GM Brian Cashman

The Yankees' up-and-down play during May and June was not particularly kind to GM Brian Cashman. The 68% rating he received from Pinstripe Alley readers after a 13-9 April soured all the way down to the low-forties thanks to firmly mediocre 28-28 stretch from May through the end of June:

On the bright side, the Yankees just finished their finest month of the season in July, dropping just seven games en route to winning six straight series and ending up at 17-7 to push their season record to 58-44. The bats were hotter than ever, particularly sluggers Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. However, a quiet trade deadline might not make Yankees fans happy, particularly with Michael Pineda hitting the DL at the end of the month and the rotation as unclear as ever. The only Yankees trade acquisition was former top prospect Dustin Ackley, acquired from the Mariners on July 30th in exchange for outfielder Ramon Flores and reliever Jose Ramirez. The Yankees have plenty of outfielders and intriguing relievers beyond those players in Triple-A Scranton, but I wouldn't be surprised if Ackley alone fails to satisfy a decent portion of Yankees fans. CC Sabathia is still in the rotation, Stephen Drew is still at second, and Rob Refsnyder remains with Scranton, save for a four-game cameo. Those facts alone will cause some grumbling.

The other side of the coin is that those who wanted the Yankees to hold onto their better prospects should be happy that none were moved for a rental like David Price or even someone who would have been around a few years, like Cole Hamels. They would certainly have improved the Yankees' chances in 2015, but with the team six games ahead in the AL East on the day of the trade deadline, it made some sense to not gamble with the best prospects the Yankees have had in years on the doorstep of the majors. Shortly after the deadline passed, it was also announced that one of them, top pitcher Luis Severino, was going to be called up for his MLB debut at the beginning of August. Perhaps that will help Cashman.

Either way, the call is yours, Yankees fans. Are you satisfied with Brian Cashman? Vote in the poll below and let us know your thoughts.