Yankees announcer Michael Kay disagrees with Brian Cashman about roster

While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, New York Yankees senior vice president and general manager Brian Cashman insisted that those who have said the Yankees have "the same roster" from last year are inaccurate. 

During Thursday's edition of his ESPN New York radio show, Yankees announcer Michael Kay responded to Cashman's take. 

Is Brian Cashman right to run it back with Yankees roster? 

"When (manager) Aaron Boone writes out his lineup on the 25th of March in San Francisco, other than [Oswaldo Cabrera], who is filling in for [injured shortstop Anthony Volpe], that’s the lineup that you finished the season with," Kay said, per NJ Advance Media. "And there’s no shame in that. I don’t think there’s a shame in that."

The Yankees have been accused of "running it back" with the same roster that fell to the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Division Series this past fall, as the Bronx Bombers' biggest moves of the offseason involved re-signing five key contributors. While the 2025 Yankees won 94 regular-season games, they failed to claim the division title last season due to a tiebreaker advantage before they were bounced from the playoffs by the Blue Jays. 

During his defense of the team's offseason, Cashman mentioned that the Yankees should get ace Gerrit Cole back from injury sometime this spring. Cole missed the entire 2025 campaign after he underwent Tommy John surgery last March. 

What Brian Cashman could/should have said about the Yankees' roster

"It becomes a game of semantics," Kay said about Cashman's explanation. "The way to answer the question is, 'It’s essentially the same team, and we’re adding a Cy Young Award winner in June, and we love this team. We think this team is good enough to win it all.' That’s the answer. Not, 'We’re not running it back.' You are. It’s the same team."

One can't help but wonder if Cashman doesn't actually believe the Yankees are "good enough to win it all." When asked on Thursday if he thinks the Yankees could defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers in a World Series matchup this coming October, Cashman offered a non-answer while acknowledging that "the goal is to find a way." 

That goal involves Cashman trusting those who represented the Yankees during the most-recent postseason tournament. 

"You are running it back," Kay added about Cashman. "So rather than fight the words, you are running it back. The answer should be, 'We’re bringing back the same team because we think that team is great. We think that that team, under the right circumstances, would be able to beat anybody and get to the World Series.' That’s the answer."