Brian Cashman Warns Yankees Need Urgency Now

Brian Cashman didn’t sugarcoat it before the opener in St. Louis: the Yankees have played poorly, everyone in the building knows it, and the noise outside is loud because that’s how New York works. The standings back him up. They finished July at 12–13 and are 16–21 since July 1.

The Yankees GM’s appearance in front of the media is not a coincidence. He’s media savvy and knows stepping in front of the cameras creates stories – and takes the pressure off the players to answer questions. 

Cashman told reporters before the Friday night series-opener that the Yankees "needs to play with urgency," in their final playoff push. 

There are some troubling signs in this skid.

Starters haven’t given length.

In the two weeks after July 30, Yankees starters struggled to even reach the sixth. On Aug. 9, Luis Gil became the first Yankee starter to record an out in the sixth inning since July 30. Two days later, Will Warren finally completed six; the following night Carlos Rodon went seven. That’s a long stretch of short starts that piles innings on the bullpen. 

The bullpen’s been shaky in leverage.

Devin Williams has worn the worst of it: he’s allowed runs in five straight outings with multiple blown leads in the last week, including a 10th-inning homer vs. Houston that flipped a win to a loss. Even the Yankees acknowledged they need to pull him out of the highest-stress spots for a bit.

The bats cooled after the break.

Since the All-Star Game, the Yankees are 10–13, and the lineup has hit .216, near the bottom of MLB in that span. Power is still there, but they haven’t sustained rallies the way they did in May. 

“They’re fighting through it,” he said, hoping “sooner than later” they start “putting smiles back on some faces,” Cashman said of the players hearing the complaints. 

The good news is there are signs of life. 

Rodon’s seven-inning gem on Aug. 12 and Warren’s 6⅔ on Aug. 11 at least halted the parade of four- and five-inning starts. If the rotation can stack a few six-plus efforts, the bullpen usage normalizes—and the offense won’t need to win every game with three swings.

The skid is real and earned, just like Cashman said. The path out is simple, if not easy: more starter length, fewer late-inning fires, and something above .216 from the lineup. 

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