Brian Cashman didn’t want to dive into “What Ifs’’ when asked had the Yankees advanced to the World Series or won it, would he still be looking for a new manager.
“It’s tough to put a hypothetical in there,’’ the Yankees GM said on a conference call Monday when he addressed not bringing back Joe Girardi for the first time.
What Cashman was very clear about was he and ultimately Hal Steinbrenner agreed that after a decade of Girardi, a new voice was needed to reach a clubhouse that has shifted from one littered with veterans to a room with high-end youth.
“As we try to continue to be an evolving, progressive franchise was it time for a new voice and a fresh voice?’’ Cashman said about his thoughts leading to Girardi being told on Oct. 24 he wasn’t being brought back. “I made that recommendation based on a number of few years now from experiences that I was able to validate whether it was directly or indirectly about the connectivity and communication level with the players in that clubhouse.’’
And the age of the players played a big part in the decision to end Girardi’s tenure at a decade.
“Obviously, you have seen a complete transition from where we were a year ago, which was a lot of top-heavy, veteran-orientated clubhouse to now a young, energetic group of talented personnel,’’ said Cashman, who praised Girardi as a manager and person. “Over time I felt we were in the same situations shortly before when we had the veterans. Once that cleared out we had the opportunity to re-engage and re-connect and maybe have channels open up a little easier. When I saw that wasn’t happening to the level I think was necessary moving forward, that’s when the recommendation came by myself to Hal Steinbrenner.’’
Cashman said the Yankees don’t take moves such as dumping a manager lightly but compared to finding the right replacement, informing Girardi his time in The Bronx was finished, it might have been easier.
Unlike other GMs he knows, Cashman didn’t have a list of replacements in his pocket. Nor will the search start and end with the GM who vowed to get input from inside and outside of the organization.
Cashman said he didn’t know how many people he will talk to, he will interview from within and from outside of the organization, that age isn’t a factor and that somebody without any managerial experience on any professional level could be the choice.
And no, Girardi botching the challenge system in the ALDS didn’t factor into the decision. Finally, when asked if Alex Rodriguez would interview, Cashman said: “I will stay silent on who the candidates are. I definitely don’t want to go through who may or not be a candidate.”
There is no indication that Rodriguez is a candidate.
“Will there be internal candidates? Yes,’’ Cashman said. “But there will be external candidates as well who will have legitimate shots. Whether I have a relationship with the candidates’ pool is not going to be the driving force behind the decision. The ultimate decision comes down to who best fits this present state the franchise is in as we move forward.’’
Rob Thomson, who has been a Yankees coach for the past 12 years (last four as Girardi’s bench coach), is likely the front-runner from within the organization. Like all coaches, Thomson’s contract expired on Oct. 31.
Cashman said he will consider a person with no experience but would have to be impressed with other areas.
“You are going to have weigh a lot of different things. So somebody who hasn’t [managed], they are going to have to be exceptional in other aspects for you to take a chance like that, but there will be people that I interview that don’t have managerial experience in their background as well,’’ Cashman said. “It’s a very diverse list of people that I have interest in talking with.’’
As for his contract running out, Cashman is a lock to return and said nothing has been finalized on a new deal that will be baptized with a very large task of picking the right manager to lead a team the GM thought needed to hear a new voice.
Yankees added outfielder Jake Cave and reliever Nick Rumbelow to the 40-man roster to avoid them becoming six-year minor league free agents.