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 owner George Steinbrenner was suspended from baseball. He succeeded Bob Watson as the team's general manager in 1998.
The Cashman family moved to Lexington,Kentucky,where his father managed Castleton Farm,raising standardbreds for harness 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]
George Steinbrenner,the owner of the New York Yankees,met John Cashman when he managed Pompano Park in Pompano 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 the minor 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 investigate Dave 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 assistant farm 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 after Bob Watson succeeded Michael as general manager in 1995.[14] The Yankees won the 1996 World Series.[15]
Despite the team's success,Cashman considered leaving the Yankees in 2005 due to conflicts with Steinbrenner and organizational disputes between team officials in New York City and Tampa,Florida.[17] The Washington 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]
Another championship (2006–2009)
With the increased authority,Cashman created a department of professional scouting,and tabbed Billy Eppler as its director.[19] Later,Eppler would move on to become the general manager of the Los 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 signed CC Sabathia,A. J. Burnett,and Mark Teixeira to long-term free agent contracts and traded for Nick Swisher. These four players played a significant role in the 2009 Yankees season,[22] culminating with a victory in the 2009 World Series.
Post-Championship years and struggles (2010–2016)
The Yankees went on to make the playoffs again following the 2010 season,but lost to the Texas Rangers in the 2010 American League Championship Series. Following the 2010 season,Cashman held a hard line with Derek Jeter during contract negotiations,reportedly telling Jeter that he would prefer to have Troy Tulowitzki as the Yankees' starting shortstop,[23] though a deal was eventually made for three years and $45 million.
Yankees ownership agreed to sign Rafael 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 a tweet,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 trade Robinson 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 signed Masahiro Tanaka,Jacoby Ellsbury,Brian McCann,and Carlos Beltrán to contracts that totaled $438million. 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 with Didi Gregorius and also acquired Nathan Eovaldi,[29] both of whom improved during the season.[30] In the 2016 season,he traded Carlos Beltrán to the Texas Rangers,Andrew Miller to the Cleveland Indians,and Aroldis Chapman to the eventual World Series Champion Chicago Cubs to bolster the Yankees farm system.
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 the AL Wildcard game over the A's,New York would fall to their rivals:Boston Red Sox in the Division Series. On April 7,2019,Cashman won his 2,000th game as the Yankees general manager.
In the 2019 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]
In 2021,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 for Anthony Rizzo and Joey 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 the Wild Card Game.
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-signed Aaron 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,goin 7-2 to reach their first World Series since 2009,but fell to the Dodgers in 5 games.
Honors
Cashman was named to Crain's New York Business 40 under 40 list for 1999.[43] The Boston chapter of the Baseball 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 lives in Darien,Connecticut.[47] He and his ex-wife,Mary,have two children,Grace and Theodore.[48] 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.[49] Cashman is a Kentucky Wildcats and New Jersey Devils fan.[8][50]
Cashman has referred to himself as an "adrenaline junkie."[4] In December 2010,Cashman rappelled from a 350-foot (110m) building in Stamford,Connecticut as part of an annual Stamford Christmas celebration.[51] He jumped from an airplane with members of the United States Army Parachute Team to raise awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project and broke his right fibula and dislocated his right ankle in the process.[52] In November 2014,Cashman slept on a New York City sidewalk to raise awareness on behalf of homeless youth.[53]
Note: Those listed here have final authority in personnel decisions for their team, typically holding a title of President of Baseball Operations, Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations, Chief Baseball Officer, and/or General Manager.
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