New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is working without a contract, according to comments he made during a press conference on Friday. His previous pact, a five-year deal, expired at the end of October.
Cashman told reporters, including Laura Albanese of Newsday, that Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner has assured him that they'll speak on the matter. Steinbrenner has expressed interest in having Cashman continue running the franchise while Cashman, for his part, said he has not spoken with other teams and that he would prefer to remain in New York.
It should be noted that this isn't the first time Cashman has operated without a new deal in hand. He worked without a contract for more than a month back in 2017 before signing his new contract in the middle of December.
Cashman, 55, has been the Yankees GM since 1998. Under his guidance, the Yankees have won four World Series titles and six American League pennants. They've also made the postseason in all but four of those seasons.
Cashman, manager Aaron Boone, and the Yankees have been under criticism lately despite winning the division title and 99 games this season after being swept in the American League Championship Series by the Houston Astros. Nevertheless, it seems more likely than not at this point that the Yankees will end up retaining both Cashman and Boone for their respective roles next year.
Assuming Cashman does remain in place, the biggest issue facing him this winter is outfielder Aaron Judge's impending free agency. Judge, of course, homered 62 times and set new single-season records for both the AL and the Yankees franchise. He rejected the Yankees' latest extension offer in spring training, an offer that would have paid Judge more than $210 million across seven years.
