Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is not on board with the narrative he didn't try to go and get a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher over the last few years.
He actually pushed back when a reporter asked him about "passing" on pitchers like Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander, Patrick Corbin and Zack Greinke.
“I didn’t pass on them," he said, via The Athletic.
He went on to describe how the Yankees couldn't afford Verlander due to budgetary limits, how New York's package wasn't as enticing as Houston's for Cole and how the team was simply outbid for Corbin.
He also said part of the Yankees' problem this postseason was centered around the loss of Domingo German, who was suspended late in the year due to a domestic violence incident in September. New York was eliminated in the American League Championship Series in six games by Cole, Verlander and the Astros.
Despite all of that, though, he is happy with the team the Yankees have and believes they can win a championship.
“You don’t get everything you want at all times,” Cashman said. “But I think what we’ve done was do a lot of great things along the way. I can sleep at night with the process we have in place, and it’s served us well and put us in position to take a legitimate shot at the championship so far in more recent years, that’s despite some of the options that went elsewhere.”
The Yankees are rumored to be on the lookout for a starter in free agency this year as SNY reports New York does want to go after Cole, who is a free agent.
But Cole is rumored to also want to play close to home on the west coast with the Angels being an early favorite among pundits as a landing spot for the 29-year-old.
This obviously won't stop the Yankees from going after him — and it could also be illogical as Cole's agent Scott Boras is unlikely to remove an entire coast from his pitcher's potential home — but it remains to be seen whether Cole will be the guy Cashman finally lands that puts his team over the top.
James Paxton was supposed to be that guy this year but even his superb performance in Game 5 of the ALCS wasn't enough to get the Yankees to the World Series. Again though, Cashman has no problem with the team he put on the field.
“You put your best foot forward and you live with it,” Cashman said. “I have no regrets that we have a strong process and we put our best foot forward.”