Yankees March Approval Poll: Brian Cashman

The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity, with the Yankees opening their season by taking two out of three against the San Francisco Giants at Yankee Stadium. Even as regular season baseball has filled a hole that’s been in our lives since last November, you may have still felt something lacking in the last couple of days: where was Pinstripe Alley’s monthly Brian Cashman approval poll?

Fear not, we did not forget. Due to the extra coverage associated with Opening Weekend and the dawn of the regular season, we decided to push our monthly poll back two days. But now we’re here, ready to ask for your thoughts on the Yankees general manager.

Before we do that, though, let’s remind ourselves we stand. Last month, Peter broke down the last 12 months in detail, which saw Cashman’s popularity rise as the Yankees dominated early last season, only to come crashing down as a result of August’s awfulness. Aside from an October crater that came after the ALCS sweep and Astros World Series, September and the winter saw Cashman’s poll numbers climb, but never again did it even come close to the 76 percent rating he earned last summer; indeed, heading into March, just 31 percent of responders believed that the Yankees GM had done a good job this winter.

So what’s changed since the start of March? For starters, the team has been battered by injuries. The rotation has taken the biggest hit, with Luis Severino and Carlos Rodón joining Frankie Montas on the injured list to start the season. No part of the team has been spared, however, as Tommy Kahnle and Lou Trivino are also on the shelf, as is center fielder Harrison Bader.

That being said, the spring has also been filled with a lot of good. Top prospect Anthony Volpe forced the organization’s hand, winning the starting shortstop job outright thanks to a strong camp, while youngster Oswaldo Cabrera seized the starting left field job from incumbent Aaron Hicks. In the rotation, Clarke Schmidt and Jhony Brito took advantage of the opportunities that arose to establish themselves as legitimate options for the starting rotation, while Jimmy Cordero continued his career turnaround by carving out a spot in the bullpen. Finally, the Yankees finally seem to have given up on Estevan Florial, designating him for assignment to add Colten Brewer to the roster, who was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays.

And so, as always, the question is returned to you, dear readers. Do you approve of the work Brian Cashman has done building this team for Opening Day? Vote in our poll below, and feel free to elaborate in the comments section — while the yes/no options aren’t quite sufficient to dive into detail, it does allow us to more clearly and consistently capture data.