| Brian Cashman | |
|---|---|
 Cashman in 2012 | |
| New York Yankees | |
| General Manager,Senior Vice President | |
| Born: (1967-07-03)July 3, 1967 (age 58)[1] Rockville Centre, New York, U.S. | |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
As General Manager:
As Assistant General Manager:
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Brian McGuire Cashman (born July 3, 1967) is an Americanbaseball executive for theNew York Yankees ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He has served as thegeneral manager and senior vice president of the Yankees since 1998. During Cashman's tenure as general manager, he inherited a core that was built byGene Michael andBob Watson, the Yankees have won sevenAmerican League pennants and fourWorld Series championships.
Cashman began working with the Yankees organization in 1986 as an intern while still in college. He was named assistant general manager in 1992, helping to run the team while ownerGeorge Steinbrenner was suspended from baseball. He succeeded Bob Watson as the team's general manager in 1998.
Cashman was born inRockville Centre, New York, and raised inWashingtonville, New York. He was raised in anIrish Catholic family,[2][3] as the middle of five children born to Nancy and John Cashman.[4] He became a baseball fan at a young age, attending asummer camp hosted byBucky Dent before starting high school. He grew up as a fan of theLos Angeles Dodgers.[5] While visiting his grandmother in Florida, he served as abatboy for the Dodgers duringspring training in 1982, with the help of former DodgerRalph Branca, a family friend.[3][6]
The Cashman family moved toLexington, Kentucky, where his father managedCastleton Farm, raisingstandardbreds forharness racing.[3] Cashman described moving out of Washingtonville before starting high school as "the best thing to happen to [him], to get out of there."[7]
Cashman attendedLexington Catholic High School before moving to the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. He attendedGeorgetown Preparatory School inNorth Bethesda, Maryland, graduating in 1985. Cashman played baseball and junior varsity basketball at both schools, and added football in his senior year.[8] Brian was classmates with Supreme Court JusticeNeil Gorsuch[9] and two years after future Supreme Court justiceBrett Kavanaugh.[10]
The Catholic University of America offered Cashman the opportunity to playcollege baseball for theCatholic Cardinals, competing in theNational Collegiate Athletic Association'sDivision III, guaranteeing him playing time as a freshman.[4] He was a four-year starter atsecond base and the team'sleadoff hitter. He set a school record for mosthits in a season, which has since been broken. He earned abachelor's degree with a major in history in 1989.[3][4]
George Steinbrenner, the owner of theNew York Yankees, met John Cashman when he managedPompano Park inPompano Beach, Florida, and the two became friends.[4] Through another family friend, John helped Brian obtain a position with the Yankees organization as an intern in 1986.[11][12] He worked in theminor leaguescouting department in the day, and worked security at night.[3] After Cashman graduated from Catholic, the Yankees offered him a position as a baseball operations assistant, which he accepted.[4][11]
Steinbrenner was banned from baseball in July 1990 for hiring a gambler to investigateDave Winfield.Gene Michael, then the Yankees'general manager, took over daily operations of the Yankees, and Cashman played a role in assisting him.[4] He was promoted to assistantfarm director that year,[11] and to major league administrator in 1991.[13] Michael named Cashman an assistant general manager in 1992.[4] He remained in the role afterBob Watson succeeded Michael as general manager in 1995.[14] The Yankees won the1996 World Series.[15]
In February 1998, Watson resigned from the Yankees, and Cashman was named senior vice-president and general manager.[13] He agreed to a one-year contract for $300,000, and became the second-youngest general manager in MLB history.[4][16][a] The Yankees won 114 games during the 1998 season, and won the1998 World Series. In 1999, Cashman traded fan favoriteDavid Wells to theToronto Blue Jays to acquireRoger Clemens. The next year, he acquiredDavid Justice, who won theAmerican League Championship Series (ALCS)Most Valuable Player Award for his play in the2000 ALCS. The Yankees won the2000 World Series, making Cashman the first general manager to win World Series titles in his first three years. In 2004, Cashman arranged the trade ofAlfonso Soriano forAlex Rodriguez.[4]
Despite the team's success, Cashman considered leaving the Yankees in 2005 due to conflicts with Steinbrenner and organizational disputes between team officials inNew York City andTampa, Florida.[17] TheWashington Nationals were rumored to be interested in hiring Cashman, which would have brought him back to the city where he attended school. Instead, Cashman agreed to a new contract with the Yankees following the conclusion of the 2005 season which gave him more authority in personnel decisions and paid him an average of $1.3 million more over the following three years.[18]
With the increased authority, Cashman created a department of professional scouting, and tabbedBilly Eppler as its director.[19] Later, Eppler would move on to become the general manager of theLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim.[20] On September 30, 2008, Cashman signed a three-year contract to stay with the Yankees through the 2011 season.[21] Following the 2008 season, when the Yankees failed to make the playoffs, Cashman signedCC Sabathia,A. J. Burnett, andMark Teixeira to long-term free agent contracts and traded forNick Swisher. These four players played a significant role in the2009 Yankees season,[22] culminating with a victory in the2009 World Series.
The Yankees went on to make the playoffs again following the 2010 season, but lost to theTexas Rangers in the2010 American League Championship Series. Following the 2010 season, Cashman held a hard line withDerek Jeter during contract negotiations, reportedly telling Jeter that he would prefer to haveTroy Tulowitzki as the Yankees' startingshortstop,[23] though a deal was eventually made for three years and $45 million.
Yankees ownership agreed to signRafael Soriano in January 2011 without Cashman's approval. Cashman stated at Soriano's introductory press conference that he disagreed with the deal.[24] The Yankees re-signed Cashman to a three-year contract in November 2011.[25]
During 2013,Alex Rodriguez composed atweet, saying that he had been cleared to play by his doctors after his hip surgery. Cashman was not pleased about the tweet, claiming that the doctors did not give such authority to clear Rodriguez to play after seeking a second opinion with them, causing his faith and relationship with Rodriguez to be alienated.[4][26] Cashman also wanted to tradeRobinson Canó during the 2013 season, reasoning that they would be unable to re-sign him in the next offseason. Ownership prevented Cashman from exploring a trade.[27]
After the 2013 season, the Yankees signedMasahiro Tanaka,Jacoby Ellsbury,Brian McCann, andCarlos Beltrán to contracts that totaled $438 million. However, the Yankees missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year. On October 10, 2014, the Yankees signed Cashman to another three-year deal through the 2017 season.[28] That offseason, Cashman prioritized restructuring the Yankees roster with younger players. He replaced the retired Jeter withDidi Gregorius and also acquiredNathan Eovaldi,[29] both of whom improved during the season.[30] In the 2016 season, he tradedCarlos Beltrán to theTexas Rangers,Andrew Miller to theCleveland Indians, andAroldis Chapman to the eventual World Series ChampionChicago Cubs to bolster the Yankees farm system.
In 2017, the Yankees made the postseason with rookie outfielderAaron Judge and second-year catcherGary Sanchez. The Yankees defeated theMinnesota Twins in the2017 American League Wild Card Game, and then went on to defeat theCleveland Indians in the2017 American League Division Series. Making their first appearance in theAmerican League Championship Series since2012, the Yankees lost to theHouston Astros in seven games, far outpacing the expectations of many analysts. Following the season, Cashman recommended to the ownerHal Steinbrenner that a managerial change was needed.Baseball America named Cashman theirExecutive of the Year after the season.[31]
On December 9, Cashman traded second basemanStarlin Castro and two prospects forMarlins outfielderGiancarlo Stanton.[32]
On December 11, 2017, Cashman signed a 5-year, $25 million contract with the Yankees to keep him as general manager through 2022.[33]
The 2018 season saw Cashman and the Yankees win 100 games. Despite a lopsided victory in theAL Wildcard game over the A's, New York would fall to their rivals: Boston Red Sox in theDivision Series. On April 7, 2019, Cashman won his 2,000th game as the Yankees general manager.
In the2019 season, the Yankees won 103 games despite having over 30 players on the injured list during the season, with the players accounting over $81 million unable to play at one point of time.[34][35]
During the pandemic-shortened2020 season, the Yankees got off to an 8–1 start, and were 16-6 mid-August, before a seven-game losing streak. The team finished both August and September 14–13, which included a 1–7 stretch against theBaltimore Orioles,Toronto Blue Jays,Tampa Bay Rays, andNew York Mets, before an 11–2 run, and finished the season 33–27, good for second-place in the East and a spot in theAmerican League Wild Card Series, their 28th consecutive winning season.[36] They won the series 2–0 against theCleveland Indians, but lost the2020 American League Division Series three-games-to-two against theTampa Bay Rays.
In2021, the Yankees rebounded to win 92 games, behind several winning streaks. Numerous player injuries in the first half of the season contributed to poor offense (through July, the Yankees had the second-lowest number of runs scored in the A.L.). Looking to bolster offensive production, Cashman traded forAnthony Rizzo andJoey Gallo, two strong left-handed batters.[37] Between August 14–27, the team won 13 consecutive games, their longest such streak since 1961.[38] They ended the season on an 8–1 run between September 20–30, but lost two of their final three games, before falling to the Red Sox 6–2 in theWild Card Game.
The following year, the Yankees finished 99–63, winning the American League East, while star outfielderAaron Judge brokeRoger Maris's American League record by hitting 62 home runs. The Yankees defeated theCleveland Guardians three games to two in theAmerican League Division Series, but were swept by theHouston Astros in theAmerican League Championship Series.[39] During the season, Cashman surpassedEd Barrow to become the longest-tenured general manager in Yankees history.[40]
On December 5, 2022, the Yankees re-signed Cashman to a four-year contract to remain with the club through the 2026 season.[41] Two days later, the Yankees and Cashman re-signedAaron Judge to a 9-year, $360 million contract.[42] After a 48–38 start, the 2023 season saw the team finish 82–80, their worst record since 1992, missing the playoffs with a fourth-place finish.
2024 saw the team capture the American League East title with a 94–68 record, and a 21–7 stretch in May alone. The Yankees defeated the Kansas City Royals in the ALDS and the Cleveland Guardians in the Championship Series, going 7–2 to reach their firstWorld Series since 2009, but fell to the Dodgers in 5 games.
Cashman was named toCrain's New York Business 40 under 40 list for 1999.[43] The Boston chapter of theBaseball Writers' Association of America selected Cashman as their MLB Executive of the Year for 2009.[44] In 2010, Cashman was inducted into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame.[45]
Cashman was selected as Baseball Executive of the Year in 2017.
Cashman was also involved in the developing of thevideo gameMLB Front Office Manager.[46]
Cashman has two children, Grace and Theodore, with his ex-wife Mary.[47] Mary filed for divorce in February 2012; they had been reportedly separated for a year. The day prior, prosecutors charged a woman with stalking Cashman in an attempt to extort money regarding an extramarital affair.[48] He is happily married to his second wife, Kimberley A. Brennan, and they reside in Greenwich, Connecticut. He is aKentucky Wildcats andNew Jersey Devils fan.[8][49]
Cashman has referred to himself as an "adrenaline junkie."[4] In December 2010, Cashman rappelled from a 350-foot (110 m) building inStamford, Connecticut as part of an annual Stamford Christmas celebration.[50] He jumped from an airplane with members of theUnited States Army Parachute Team to raise awareness for theWounded Warrior Project and broke his rightfibula and dislocated his right ankle in the process.[51] In November 2014, Cashman slept on a New York City sidewalk to raise awareness on behalf of homeless youth.[52]
Media related toBrian Cashman at Wikimedia Commons| Sporting positions | ||
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| Preceded by | New York YankeesGeneral Manager 1998–present | Succeeded by incumbent |