Brian Cashman still has faith in Aaron Boone, Yankees roster

After losing five straight and being swept by their division rivals, Yankees manager Aaron Boone hinted of changes to come.

Those changes, however, will neither be a major shakeup of the roster nor include Boone or his coaching staff. Brian Cashman spoke with reporters on Monday to acknowledge that the Bombers have been awful to start the 2021 season, but expressed confidence in the roster he built, in his manager and staff and that he will not change course 15 games into a season.

“I think we’re all in the same boat with performance, our record is just reflective of our organization and obviously Aaron’s a piece of that, as am I, " the Yankees GM said on a video conference call. ”Otherwise he’s doing everything he needs to do. He’s checking all the boxes. He’s cross checking whether it’s lineup related, whether it’s how to deploy the troops on the defensive standpoint. Obviously (he) spoke to the team when we faced Glasnow the other night, after that tough loss. He obviously engaged the group in a strong way. So he’s doing everything he needs to do.

“And, most importantly, (he’s) supporting these guys, because we trust our players and we trust their abilities and we trust over the course of time that will, as it normally does, correct itself, obviously, with a lot more games under the belt,” Cashman said. “So I think Aaron Boone is doing everything he can do within his power.”

With surprisingly loud boos from the 10,806 in the ballpark on Sunday and the Yankees waking up with the worst record in the American League, Cashman said that he did not want to hide from the fact that the Bombers are off to their worst start since 1997.

“The purpose of me being on this call right now is that I don’t want to run and hide from it. I acknowledge obviously our disappointing play, but also reinforced that we’re not going to have 15 games to have us adjust the course,” Cashman said. “Our message to our players and therefore our fans is we are going to fight our way out of that start. Hopefully by the end of the month, you’ll see a more reflective record that gets us back online and it gets people’s confidence back to where it should be.”

Cashman does not have a history of reflexive in-season moves with his on-field staff. Hal Steinbrener, who Cashman described as disappointed with the team, is not like his father and is also not demanding of sacrificial firings.

The only real change that can be expected from the 5-10 Yankees on Tuesday night when they open a two-game series against the Braves at the Stadium is some lineup adjustments. After watching Aaron Hicks make two big defensive mistakes on Sunday and then add to his slump at the plate 1-for-his last 15 and hitting .160/.236/.240 with a home run and 14 strikeouts for the season, it would not be surprising to see Boone try a different outfield configuration.

“I think he’s an example of many of our players throughout our squad,” Cashman said of Hicks. “I mean we have a 26-man roster and you insert his name you can take his name out and throw another name in and you’re going to get the same answer, it’s below where he’s capable, playing. That’s true of most of our roster right now.”

Cashman said it was something Boone could try, but there are honestly not many configurations that jump out as an improvement. Clint Frazier does not have a home run or an RBI, is hitting .167 in the 11 games he has played and also made a defensive mistake Sunday. On the bench he has Brett Gardner who is hitting .240/.367/.320 with an RBI and seven strikeouts in 10 games, while Mike Tauchman is slashing .143/.143/.143 with three strikeouts in six games. Aaron Judge is hitting .255 and in a 5-for-29 slump in the last eight games. Giancarlo Stanton is hitting .176 and in a 3-for his last 26 slump.

With Jay Bruce retiring after Sunday’s game, the Yankees’ 40-man roster options at the Alternate Site are Mike Ford, a lefty-slugging first baseman, Tyler Wade, a light-hitting lefty utility man, and Florial Estevan, a lefty-hitting outfielder.

While Cashman was there when the Yankees opened the 1997 season 5-10, he said Monday he cannot really remember the details of it, because the team turned it around. That team finished 96-66 and lost to Cleveland in the AL Division Series. His long tenure in the job has taught Cashman patience and trust.

“I’ve got a lot of trust in the people we have,” Cashman said. “I’ve been around the block a long time now and had a number of different managers, a number of different coaches, and they were all faced with the same situation at times on a year-in and year-out basis. It just comes down to trying to put your players in the best position possible to succeed, give them the best information you can in the simplest terms you can and then letting them play. And then stand out of the way and let them play.”