Yankees GM Brian Cashman faces DH logjam as club seeks to fix 'inconsistent' offense

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, speaking last month about yet another early-October ouster from the postseason, was not ambiguous when it came to where he laid the blame.

“I was disappointed, frankly, with the offense throughout the course of the year as a whole,” Steinbrenner said. “As a whole, they were very inconsistent and for long periods of time… the offense was a big disappointment for me, and it has to be better.”

The steps toward making it better are not yet clear.

And general manager Brian Cashman, speaking at MLB’s annual GM meetings Tuesday afternoon in Las Vegas, in some ways made that murkier in stating in absolute terms that the injury-prone Giancarlo Stanton, who played just 24 games last season and has one year remaining on his contract, will be back in 2027, at least at the start of the year.

“He's not going anywhere. He'll be in spring training with us, without a doubt,” Cashman said.

The roster presence of Stanton, the sport's active leader in career homers with 456, gives the Yankees a logjam at designated hitter because the 37-year-old, if healthy, is no longer a viable option in the field.

Ben Rice hit 24 of his team-high 41 homers in 96 games as the DH – he hit 16 in 54 games at first base and one as a pinch hitter – and trade deadline acquisition Luis Garcia Jr., though better than expected at first base, is expected, should he not be part of an off-season deal, to get some turns at DH.

As will, Cashman said, three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge, who played in just 66 games last season because a right rib fracture and the calf strain he suffered shortly after returning in September.

“I'm sure he's going to need some DH times. I'm sure he doesn't want to hear that. He's an alpha, wants to play every day,” Cashman said. “It’s in his best interest (to get some DH reps), and what’s in his best interest is going to be what’s in our best interest. He’s one of the game’s great players. We have to keep those players on the field as much as we can to get to where we want to go.”

Not that Cashman sees the return of Judge – whom the GM said is in “a good place” following an end-of-season evaluation – as an automatic cure-all for the offense.

“We'll be instantly better if we have a healthy Aaron Judge,” Cashman said. “That's a clear statement that's obvious. That'll lengthen and deepen our lineup, but it's my job to improve on all aspects of it and not just count on him coming back to fix everything."

Other areas Cashman will be looking to attack before the sport presumably shuts down at midnight on Dec. 1 when this current collective bargaining agreement runs out?

The longtime GM said he’ll be looking for a “good-defending, right-handed hitting option” to go with left-handed hitting catcher Austin Wells, who struggled all season offensively, as well as being open to addressing third base. The lefty-swinging Ryan McMahon, due $16 million next season and a player the Yankees would be open to moving, has had it rough offensively since the Yankees got him at the 2025 trade deadline. Compounding that, McMahon had his issues defensively in 2026.

"We'll look at it, without a doubt,” Cashman said of third. “We struggled there this year a little bit more than I would've expected. That doesn't mean Ryan McMahon's not capable of a lot more, too."

Cashman did not rule out exploring options at second base, though he said Garcia, who during his time with the Nationals did not get rave reviews at second base, could get a look there, as could Anthony Volpe, who after losing the job at short late in the year to rookie George Lombard Jr. showed himself to be a quicker learner at the position in the minors and, after that, in the big leagues.

“I think, generally, we're going to be open-minded and flexible to whatever way we can improve the overall roster, but we do have internal options that we're comfortable with,” Cashman said. “At the same time, it's my job to explore any outside opportunities that may exist, as well."

As for the expiring CBA and the possibility of, whenever a new one gets hammered out and the possibility of it including a salary cap, Cashman, for whom his bullpen is also a priority, especially if closer David Bednar doesn't accept the qualifying offer and becomes a free agent, said he will carry on this winter as if it’s “business as usual” until it isn’t.

“I've been given a budget by Hal, and we're trying to now connect with teams and agents as the winter has just started to see what is feasible and what isn't feasible,” Cashman said. “Try to gameplan off of that information that we're gathering now.”

With David Lennon in Las Vegas

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.