Yankees January 2021 Approval Poll: GM Brian Cashman

It’s been a little while since Pinstripe Alley last ran an approval poll of Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. Since I used to run these surveys at points during my previous tenure, I thought that it would be a fun exercise to bring them back. Pinstripe Alley will track Cashman’s approval rating throughout the 2021 season, and it will be a nice way to keep track of how his various moves pay off.

At the end of the 2019 campaign, Cashman rated at 51 percent, and when I asked fans to grade his 2020, he was given a C. If I was a parent looking at either of those evaluations, I wouldn’t be especially pleased — even acknowledging that New York can be a tough crowd. 2021 offers a fresh start for us all, though.

Before you cast your vote, a SparkNotes summary of the Yankees’ offseason might help. Unless you’re a big Adam Warren fan, December was quiet, as Cashman only non-tendered reliever Jonathan Holder while electing to keep all the other arbitration-eligible players (including Gary Sánchez). January brought more activity, as Cashman finally pinned down 2019-20 team MVP DJ LeMahieu on a six-year, $90 million contract. It is worth noting that thus far, LeMahieu is the only notable free agent from the 2020 club to return; Masahiro Tanaka departed after seven years for his old Rakuten club in Japan, J.A. Happ signed with the Twins, Tommy Kahnle joined the Dodgers, and James Paxton seems unlikely to re-sign. (The jury is still out on Brett Gardner.)

The same day that Cashman brought LeMahieu back though, he signed Corey Kluber to a one-year deal in an effort to conjure a comeback season from the two-time Cy Young Award winner. He filled another spot in the rotation by trading a package of four prospects to the Pirates for Jameson Taillon, who missed 2020 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Cashman also surprisingly dealt reliever Adam Ottavino and prospect Frank German to the Red Sox in exchange for Boston taking on almost all of Ottavino’s remaining contract. To fill Ottavino’s role, he signed veteran sidearmer Darren O’Day to join the club on a one-year contract with an option for 2022.

The offseason might not be entirely over just yet and the team still needs to make a 40-man move to add O’Day. That being said, the Yankees’ roster appears to be mostly set, barring any stunning news.*

*A potential Gardner reunion does not count as “stunning.”

So as of the end of January, do you approve of Brian Cashman? There’s a lot to factor into a “yes” or a “no,” and you might feel like your answer is more of a soft “yes” or “no” than a stamp of approval or a sharp rebuke. However, the binary question is the best way to get a direct read on fans’ thoughts.

Vote in the poll below and let us know! We’ll revisit the results in a month.