Despite a $220M Higher Payroll, a Position Under the Oakland Athletics Underlines Brian Cashman’s Flawed Pursuit of Yoshinobu Yamamoto Just Like the Rest of the Yankees Season

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BySaurabh Saini

Sep 14, 2023 | 7:32 AM EDT

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The 2023 MLB season has brought a slew of hardships to the New York-based baseball teams. The Mets and Yankees could not perform up to the expectations and are almost out of the playoff race. Being the top two spenders in the league, they are in the same group of miseries and are working for the future. To fulfill this, they have started changing the team, from the Mets making David Stearns, president of baseball operations, to the Yankees looking to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto. However, the most recent statistic has raised doubts about this endeavor.

Significantly, the Mets and Yankees have exhibited striking similarities this season, both in terms of their considerable spending, which positions them as the top two spenders in the league. Even after it, both teams languish at the bottom in offensive abilities. The problem is much worse for the Yanks, who start one spot below the Oakland Athletics, the lowest spenders in the league. Even after all this, Brian Cashman is still pursuing a pitcher for the next season, which makes one wonder: Is his approach justified?

Do New York Yankees Offensive Struggles Expose Brian Cashman?

The New York Yankees have struggled all this year with both offense and defense letting them down. But the failure of offense has added a greater misery to their problems, putting them below another struggling team, the Oakland Athletics. Even after spending $220 million more on wages than them, they are one spot behind the A’s in the number of total hits made in the season.

At this point, this is just comical. New York sports are at an all-time low… pic.twitter.com/9ITzBWNDER
— ZT🗽 (@NY_EvilEmpire) September 13, 2023

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An x user shared a comparison. It read, “At this point, this is just comical. New York sports are at an all-time low…”. Notably, it pointed out the payroll gap between the struggling teams. While the Mets being the highest spenders in the league stand 28th in hits made, the Yankees being second, are 30th in hits.

The A’s are sandwiched between the two highest spenders with 4801 hits made. Even after being the smallest spending team, the A’s have a better record and exposed the flawed approach of the Mets and Brian Cashman-led team. And his latest approach also shows the same, bringing out his denying attention to the offense.

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Is Brian Cashman Moving in the Wrong Direction Again With His Eyes on Yoshinobu Yamamoto?

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Notably, even after managing just 4749 hits, the Yankees GM is not paying attention to the offense. Instead, he is looking to strengthen the pitching department, in addition to his last year’s signing Carlos Rodon. It indicates his lack of attention to the declining and underperforming offense.

It was visible in the failed deal of signing Juan Soto. Given that this happened after they missed Aaron Judge to injury, it pointed towards the wrong path they have been all season. The move to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto, even after losing many offensive players for a long, puts questions on their priorities.

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But as the deal is yet to take place for the Japanese star, an early exit is a possibility. What are your thoughts on this? Will the Yankees continue their approach for the World Baseball Classic champion? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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