Brian Cashman isn't stressing out over crucial roster decisions as Yankees near end of camp
Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman speaks on the phone at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla on Feb. 19, 2023. Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — With eight days to go before Opening Day, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman sounded as nonchalant on Wednesday about his upcoming roster decisions as if you had just asked him what he planned to have for lunch.
Is Cashman sweating the piping hot Anthony Volpe/Oswald Peraza shortstop debate, as most Yankees fans are? Is he staying up nights wondering what to do about the Yankees’ glut of infielders and their lack of healthy, sure-thing outfielders? Is he wondering where he’s going to find starting pitching depth after injuries to Carlos Rodon, Frankie Montas and Nestor Cortes?
“Like every year at the end of spring training, obviously it's time to start making calls on the initial roster,” Cashman casually told a small group of reporters before the Yankees played the Nationals. “But you recognize the roster is always changing as the season moves on.”
But is this end of spring training really like every other? The Volpe decision makes it unlike any other with the exception of 1996, when the Yankees had to decide whether to open with a rookie named Derek Jeter as their shortstop. Cashman was an assistant GM in 1996.
That decision worked out pretty well. So when is Cashman or manager Aaron Boone going to announce if Volpe or Peraza is the Opening Day shortstop?
“Towards the end [of spring training],” Cashman said.
The Florida portion of spring training ends on Monday. The Yankees play the Nationals in an exhibition game in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday and open the season in the Bronx against the San Francisco Giants on Thursday.
Boone, with a mischievous glint in his eye, has suggested the Yankees won’t announce their decisions until they have to submit a roster on the morning of Opening Day. Cashman wouldn’t go that far.
“Boonie and I will continue conversations,” Cashman said. “I can't tell you when [the decisions will be announced]. It'll be towards the end. If it's prior to D.C. or not, we'll see.”
Volpe has impressed in his first big-league spring training while playing short and second. The 21-year-old is batting .308 (12-for-39) with five doubles, two home runs, five stolen bases and a 1.027 OPS.
Peraza, who went 0-for-4 in the Yankees' 5-2 loss, has a .188 average (6-for-32) with two doubles, one home run, two stolen bases and a .660 OPS.
Peraza’s glove at short is considered superior to Volpe’s, and the 22-year-old Peraza has done nothing to dispel that belief in spring training.
Gleyber Torres is back in camp after a stint with the Venezuelan team in the World Baseball Classic. He joins a crowded infield picture that includes veterans DJ LeMahieu and Josh Donaldson, last year’s starting shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and 24-year-old Oswaldo Cabrera. The latter two are being groomed as super-utility players.
But Cashman, who had his phone pressed to his ear for much of batting practice, wouldn’t say if his number is ringing off the hook with teams trying to pry away one of his excess infielders.
“I will stay engaged with the other clubs,” Cashman said. “We don't have to make a move. We'll make a move if there's a benefit to doing so. And if there isn't, then we won’t.”
Asked if he was leaning one way or another at shortstop, Cashman said: “We'll make a decision when we have to in the very end. We still have some time on the clock. But we've had a good camp, a lot of good things to see. But we have time on the clock to make the final call.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
