Yankees October Approval Poll: Brian Cashman

November is upon us and once again the Fall Classic is being contested by two teams not named the Yankees. If you believe the organization’s ultimate mission statement of winning a World Series, that’s now 13 straight seasons that the team has failed to meet its goal.

As always, the start of a new month ushers in the latest installment of our monthly Brian Cashman approval poll. As the roster’s principle architect, much of the onus for the team’s failed postseason run falls upon his shoulders. Before we get to the Yankees’ playoff exit, let’s recap the GM’s path to this point.

He started the season with his approval rating in the tank at just 25 percent thanks largely in part to the trade for Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa in place of adding a legitimate impact shortstop, in addition to the public and at times contentious arbitration and extension negotiations with Aaron Judge.

His fortunes changed as the team jumped out to a historic pace. His approval rating reflected the team’s winning record, rising to 70 percent in April where it would remain steady with marks of 68 percent, 76 percent, and 69 percent in May, June, and July respectively.

A horrid August that included a 3-14 stretch and nearly dissolved a 15.5-game lead in the division cratered approval ratings to a season-low 10 percent. However, the team rebounded with a 20-9 stretch in September that saw them comfortably clinch the AL East division crown with 99 wins, boosting Cashman’s approval up to 42 percent.

Enter the postseason and a premature end to the team’s aspirations. They fell to the brink of elimination against an inferior Guardians squad before valiantly fighting back and earning a berth in the ALCS. However, they were no match for the Astros and faded quickly and quietly to an unremarkable end.

A bullpen depleted by the injuries to Michael King, Chad Green, Ron Marinaccio, Scott Effross, and Zack Britton and an AWOL Aroldis Chapman was further robbed of potential replacements when Cashman dealt away the likes of Ken Waldichuk, Hayden Wesneski, and JP Sears at the deadline. A deadline, mind you, which yielded impact contributors such as Lou Trivino and Harrison Bader, but also returned three players who played little or no role in the playoffs in Effross, Frankie Montas, and Andrew Benintendi. There’s no legislating for injury, however it can’t be denied that players dealt to other teams contributed more.

And on the offensive side, sure they had the AL single-season home run king in Judge, but even his oversized presence was outweighed by serious questions about the bottom-half of the lineup’s ability to score. Donaldson was completely cooked, there was a revolving door at shortstop, and it was folly to place any reliance on the hobbled DJ LeMahieu and Matt Carpenter.

Winter is coming, and the Yankees have a litany of decisions — starting with Judge’s free agency — that will determine the course of the franchise for years to come. That said, we ask that you limit your evaluation of Cashman’s performance to the month of October. That means the team’s performance in the playoffs is what we’re interested in.

So that brings us to today’s task. Do you approve of the job Brian Cashman has done through the end of October? 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.

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