Yankees June Approval Poll: Brian Cashman

June has finally passed into July, and soon after will come the end of the first half. The Yankees are cruising with a 56-21 record, a remarkable .727 pace that you’d be hard-pressed to find any Yankees fan expected on Opening Day (or even a month into the season for that matter).

The team’s success and general health have meant that GM Brian Cashman hasn’t had to do too much work in June. The primary moves involved bringing folks back from the injured list, as Giancarlo Stanton and Josh Donaldson returned to the team after stints on the IL dealing with a calf strain and shoulder inflammation, respectively. Luis Severino had a brief COVID scare and Triple-A arm Ryan Weber stepped up to the challenge against AL East rival Tampa Bay with 3.2 innings of relief for emergency starter/prospect Clarke Schmidt, who returned to Triple-A along with Weber to stretch out rather than lingering in the bullpen as a middle-relief arm.

Cashman also made a waiver claim to bring frequent 2021 reliever Albert Abreu back to the ballclub following an early-April trade to the Rangers in a now-prescient move to bring All-Star contender Jose Trevino into the mix behind the plate. Abreu didn’t last in Texas or Kansas City, but he’s looked good in three games back in the New York bullpen. Cashman also tapped JP Sears to give the rotation an extra day of rest on Tuesday against the A’s, and for the second time this year, Sears turned in a superb spot start. Ultimately, the team went 22-6 in June.

The question of what to do with Joey Gallo remains, as the outfielder has fallen back into a dismal slump after a couple better weeks earlier in June, and the rotation has slowed down a bit of late as well (though not nearly to the same extent). Cashman will get some bullpen reinforcements soon, as Aroldis Chapman is set to return from the IL today and both Jonathan Loáisiga and Domingo Germán seem like they’re on the road back, too. Any other questions might have to be handled at trade deadline.

Aaron Judge’s free agency will also loom over this year as the MVP frontrunner continues to dominate baseball in wake of his decision to reject a $213 million extension prior to Opening Day. Judge does not wish to negotiate during the season, but he did come to terms with the Yankees on his salary for this season, moments before he was due to go into an arbitration hearing with Cashman and company. Judge will get $19 million with incentives for more in 2022.

So as of the end of June, do you approve of Brian Cashman? As always, 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.

At the end of March, Cashman’s approval rating sat at a lowly 25 percent after an offseason that left some fans underwhelmed. A far better April than expected brought his rating all the way up to 70 percent, and after May, Cashman was graded roughly the same, at 68 percent. Now, it’s time for a verdict on June!

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