Yankees July Approval Poll: Brian Cashman

Editor's note: This article and poll were created to assess Brian Cashman's rating as of the end of July. Although we can’t make anyone forget any transactions that have happened on August 1st, please try to vote in the poll with this in mind. Thank you!

The trade deadline is just over 24 hours away, and the Yankees are about to enter the dog days of summer. It’s also the start of a new month, which means it’s time to revive our now regular tradition of asking fans to weigh in on our Brian Cashman approval poll.

New York got off to a scorching start reminiscent of the 1998 Yankees, and it was easy to get carried away wondering how historic a season they could assemble. While the team has cooled off since that fateful four-game series against the Astros at the stadium — going 17-15 in the interceding weeks — they are still the owners of a double-digit lead in the AL East and two games up on Houston for the best record in the AL.

The dominant storyline of the Yankees season, and in MLB for that matter, has been Aaron Judge’s barnstorming tour as the best player in baseball. Of course, it all started with Judge betting on himself and rejecting the Yankees’ seven-year, $213.5 million extension offer on the eve of the season. Then there was the arbitration dispute that again didn’t get settled until the eleventh hour. And finally, there were rumors of another failed attempt by the front office to extend their superstar over the All-Star break.

All he’s done in response has been to assemble perhaps the greatest walk year performance in the free agent era. Judge currently leads baseball in home runs (42), RBI (91), and fWAR (6.4), and probably a bunch of other categories I’m forgetting, and is making a serious push for Roger Maris’ AL home run record.

He’s not the only player to impress on offense. They re-upped with Anthony Rizzo over the winter and he’s tied for seventh on the MLB HR leaderboard with 24. DJ LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres are having the bounce-back seasons the Yankees needed to propel their charge at the top of the division.

Giancarlo Stanton was productive at the plate and playing more outfield before going down with Achilles tendonitis that could keep him out for two to three weeks. That along with Joey Gallo turning into an absolute pumpkin and Aaron Hicks’ inconsistencies spurred Cashman to make the first big splash at the deadline — though certainly not the one that Yankees fans wanted — acquiring Andrew Benintendi from the Royals in the hope that his bat-to-ball and on-base skills could offer more production from a permanent outfield spot.

Not every addition to the team has paid off. Josh Donaldson has been floundering at the plate for an extended stretch, though at least is making up some of the difference in value with solid defense at the hot corner. The same can’t exactly be said about Isiah Kiner-Falefa, He’s performed well below average offensively despite occasionally hitting singles in bunches and grades out as tied for the seventh-worst defensive shortstop in the game. Given the struggles of Gary Sánchez and Gio Urshela, you could probably write off the trade between New York and Minnesota as a wash.

With all this in mind, it’s clear there are still areas of the roster which could use reinforcement before the trade window slams shut. While Benintendi’s acquisition likely precludes the addition of another bat, recent weeks have exposed cracks in the Yankees pitching staff. Gerrit Cole is still the undisputed Game 1 starter, but uncertainty abounds in the rotation behind him.

How effective will Luis Severino be after he returns from injury? Can Nestor Cortes maintain this level of success as he journeys deeper into uncharted territory from an innings standpoint? Which version of Jameson Taillon and Jordan Montgomery will show up on a given start? Do we really have to watch more of Domingo Germán?

Additionally, a bullpen which looked nigh on indestructible has wobbled of late. Clay Holmes has struggled with a consistent release point on the sinker in several outings lately. Jonathan Loáisiga and Aroldis Chapman are working their ways back to where we expect, but haven’t fully reentered the circle of trust. Wandy Peralta and Ron Marinaccio have certainly earned high leverage opportunities but like all pitchers can falter at inopportune moments.

So that brings us to today’s task. Do you approve of the job Brian Cashman has done through the end of July? Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), what he does or doesn’t do in the next 24 or so hours can have no bearing on your evaluation of his duties as GM. However, his decision to add Benintendi over, say, Juan Soto, or the seeming lack of pursuit of Luis Castillo prior to his move to Seattle are fair game.

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.

To refresh your memory, his approval rating stood at a lowly 25 percent at the end of March, skyrocketed up to 70 percent after April, plateaued at 68 percent after May, and shot up to a season-high of 76 percent at the end of last month. Time to find out where it stands following an eventful July.

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