When Derek Jeter announced rather cryptically at the Yankee Stadium ceremony to honor his Hall of Fame induction that he hopes to “see a lot more of you,” the rumor mill moved into overdrive. Immediately, folks began speculating Jeter would be replacing Brian Cashman as Yankees GM.
But sorry, here are four good reasons why that isn’t happening.
1) Cashman isn’t in danger of losing his job despite some fans’ wishes. Maybe if the Yankees fall out of first, then exit quickly as a wild card, but even then … Yes, some recent Cashman moves aren’t working, but evaluating a GM takes the full record into account, and he has 25 years of winning records. That’s a lot of winning.
2) Yankees boss Hal Steinbrenner values stability in a way his father never did. He’s not likely to completely change course off a “disappointing” 90-something-win season. And if he does, he’s unlikely to hire an unproven commodity.
3) Jeter isn’t known to be interested in a GM job. He was CEO in Miami, so GM technically would be a step down. Yes, it’s the Yankees, not the Marlins. But the GM job comes with issues that may deter Jeter, such as accepting constant criticism. Cashman deals with it. Jeter liked only praise as an all-time great player (and, in case he’s reading, he was just that). He started the Players Tribune, which only presents authorized/sanitized “news,” the kind he likes.
4) There’s no evidence Jeter would be a better GM than Cashman. Cashman has won four titles, and while it’s been awhile, the Yankees contend annually. While Jeter remained above the fray in Miami due to his exalted title, he was the de facto GM, according to sources. And while it isn’t easy winning on a shoestring, things didn’t go well.
Even before this disappointing season played out, Jeter and ownership parted ways, and it’s hard to imagine Jeter really left because they wouldn’t let him spend $100 million on Nick Castellanos, as reports suggested.
They still spent $92 million signing Avisail Garcia (Jeter spearheaded that signing) and Jorge Soler, who got hurt. You really think he’s quitting on a staff he hired over $8 million in spending money?
In reality, some partners were said to be unhappy the team is still losing money and games at the same rate as before. Anyway, Castellanos has been barely better than Garcia, who’s out again with a hamstring after underperforming. Garcia has been called “Jeter’s parting gift,’’ since $14 million a year for a non-producer is disastrous for a team that still doesn’t draw mosquitoes to Miami.