Yankees July 2017 approval poll: GM Brian Cashman

The trade deadline has finally passed, and there are just two more months until the regular season ends. It’s time for our monthly check in on Brian Cashman’s approval rating. Yankees fans tend to love Cashman when the Yankees are playing well, and hate him when the team struggles. That has been the case so far this season. Cashman started the year with an approval rating of 79% during the offseason, but that number soared all the way up to 97% in April. June was a rocky month for the Yankees, and Cashman’s worst month of the season so far. Will his approval rating jump back into the 90s in July?

The Yankees were hit hard by the injury bug in June, but July wasn’t much better on that front. Starlin Castro was activated from the disabled list only to be placed right back on it. Greg Bird finally got a legitimate diagnosis to explain his ankle woes and had surgery. The Yankees lost Michael Pineda to Tommy John surgery, Matt Holliday missed some time, and Aaron Hicks spent the entire month nursing an oblique injury. Despite all of those injuries, and a particularly bad start to the month, the Yankees finished July with a 14-12 record.

Even though they faltered in June, the division was still in reach in July and the Yankees decided to go all in. The first substantial trade was the one that brought over Todd Frazier, David Robertson, and Tommy Kahnle from the White Sox in exchange for Tyler Clippard, Tito Polo, Ian Clarkin, and Blake Rutherford. That trade strengthened the bullpen and improved the Yankees’ first base situation.

Losing Pineda was a blow to the rotation, and it was pretty clear that the Yankees would have to add a starting pitcher or two if they wanted to make a playoff run. Rumors circulated connecting the Yankees to Sonny Gray for weeks, but it was unclear if he would actually end up with the team. With so many question marks in the rotation, Brian Cashman put together a trade to bring Jaime Garcia over from the Twins for Zack Littell and Dietrich Enns. In the end, Cashman did end up working out a trade for Gray just before the deadline passed. Dustin Fowler, James Kaprielian, and Jorge Mateo were sent to Oakland in the deal.

The Yankees are currently just half a game back in the AL East, and there’s no telling what will happen over the next two months. Cashman traded for Gray, Frazier, D-Rob, and Kahnle in the hopes of helping the team win now, so here’s hoping that the Yankees finish the season strong and find themselves playing meaningful October baseball.

The general consensus seems to be that the Yankees got the better part of the Gray deal, but what do you think? Do you approve of the job that Cashman is doing as the GM? Do you agree with his trade deadline moves? Vote in the poll below and let us know what you think in the comments.