Brian Cashman on Yankees’ lack of moves at Winter Meetings: ‘I haven’t accomplished anything’
The Athletic has live coverage of the 2025 MLB Winter Meetings.
ORLANDO, Fla. — In the hotel lobby of the Signia by Hilton, there was some thought Tuesday that the free agency dam was finally about to burst. The Philadelphia Phillies re-signed Kyle Schwarber to a five-year, $150 million contract, while the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Edwin Díaz to a three-year, $69 million contract. And yet, those remain the only two major moves of the week entering Wednesday, the final day of Winter Meetings.
Speaking with reporters poolside Wednesday morning, New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman suggested no one would miss much of anything if they decided to take an afternoon dip in the luxury pool.
“Every now and then, I’ll daydream with a little bit of comfort knowing that it seems like, ‘Alright, this market seems to be glacial speed,’” Cashman said. “There’s not a lot of the inventory that I’m interested in coming off the board yet. That means it’s tough to get. So my experiences, I would assume, are the same experiences in other camps, but you keep working at it.”
Cashman was frank about his time in Orlando: “I haven’t accomplished anything.” He said it has been tough matching up with agents and their asks in free agency or from opposing teams in trade discussions.
“Don’t like the asks coming our way, and the opposing teams, with what I’m trying to pull from them on the trade stuff, they’re not liking, currently, anything. But we do have some conversations that possibly could lead somewhere,” Cashman said, adding that if the team “had something, we would have done it.”
Unlike last offseason, when the Yankees were in a holding pattern waiting on Juan Soto, Cashman said he is free this year to make other moves while they wait on Cody Bellinger. Last year, they had interest in Blake Snell and Willy Adames but had to watch their targets sign elsewhere as they remained in the dark with Soto. They are not facing the same issue with Bellinger. One reason is that Bellinger’s eventual contract will not be close to Soto’s, and secondly, their offseason doesn’t hinge on whether he returns or not.
Cashman reiterated that they are comfortable going into spring training with Jasson Domínguez and Spencer Jones battling for the left field position. That could, ultimately, be a negotiating ploy by Cashman, who has made several similar remarks about players over the years, only for the Yankees to go in a different direction — Bubba Crosby, anyone?
Therefore, the Yankees will continue to be opportunistic on the market. They haven’t “lost” out on any players who have signed deals. They did not offer contracts to Devin Williams or Díaz, the two best available relievers. They did not have a fit for Schwarber. They were not pursuing Dylan Cease or in the market to trade for Sonny Gray. Still, that won’t help the impatient fans watching rival teams make moves while the Yankees sit idly.
There could also be a deeper reason for the lack of activity, too, which would be less than ideal for Yankees supporters.
“Everything adds up. Everything counts,” Cashman said. “We’re an aggressive franchise, but while being aggressive, we already have some very large commitments, and the more of those you have, the more it affects you in other areas. And so everything’s tied together. Our ownership has obviously demonstrated year in and year out how massively committed they are. But at the same time, that’s not an open blank checkbook either.”
The Yankees can’t be judged yet for being inactive when there are still three-plus months until Opening Day, but if these three days end up being a microcosm of the offseason, the judgment will surely be harsh.
