Yankees June 2018 approval poll: GM Brian Cashman

The All-Star break is quickly approaching, which means we’re nearing the halfway point in the season. June is coming to a close, so it’s time for our monthly Brian Cashman approval poll. The Yankees GM started the year on a high note after trading for Giancarlo Stanton. After stumbling out of the gate, the Yankees finished April strong, and so did Cashman. His approval rating dropped off a bit in May, but 90% is still very solid. Will his numbers take a hit in June, or will he stay in the 90s?

The Yankees are set to finish the month with a record of 18-10 or 19-9, depending on the outcome of today’s game. Considering that two of their off days were turned into make up doubleheaders, there really isn’t too much to complain about. The only real low point in the month was the series that the Rays swept at Tropicana Field.

However, June did reveal further cracks in the Yankees’ rotation. During the series against the Mets, Masahiro Tanaka somehow managed to simultaneously strain both hamstrings and has been on the disabled list ever since. We also learned that Jordan Montgomery’s elbow injury was much worse than originally reported. At the end of May, we heard that he threw 50-60 pitches off of flat ground, and on June 5th the Yankees announced he needed Tommy John surgery.

Domingo German has filled Monty’s rotation spot for nearly two months now, and has had mixed results. Though he has put together the occasional great outing, he owns a 5.88 ERA as a starter. The Yankees surprised everyone by calling up Jonathan Loaisiga from Double-A to fill Tanaka’s spot. He has only surrendered three runs across 14 innings, but has also walked eight batters. Tanaka should return soon, but do the Yankees really feel comfortable making a postseason push with the rotation as it is? Probably not.

For his part, Cashman has made it clear that the Yankees are interested in acquiring a starting pitcher. Not only did they send a scout to Michael Fulmer’s start the other day, but Cashman has been vocal about his interest in making a deal with the Mets for Noah Syndergaard or Jacob deGrom. It remains to be seen if he’ll actually be able to put together a trade for any of the seemingly available pitchers, but he usually has some kind of sneaky trade up his sleeve.

Vote in the poll below, and head over to the comment section to let us know what you think of the job Cashman is doing so far this season. Does your opinion of him hinge on whatever happens before the trade deadline passes?