Brian Cashman’s Yankees ultimatum to be tested right away against Rays

Judgment Day (pun intended) is near for New York Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman. And if the long-time executive is a man of his word, his team won’t fail its rabid fanbase.

In speaking with the media on Wednesday just before a Yankees’ walk-off win over the Cleveland Guardians in the Bronx, Cashman implored the media and fans: “Don’t count us out… Don’t give up on us.”

Brian Cashman’s recent remarks on the state of the Yankees to be put to the test against the Rays

Those are the words of trying times, as the Yankees have experienced in the early portion of the 2023 season. Injuries to key contributors like Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Josh Donaldson, Carlos Rodon, Luis Severino, Frankie Montas and many more have bereft the roster of talent, though at 17-15 through May 3, are still above water. But they definitely aren’t where they’d thought they’d be, either.

And thus this ultimatum from Cashman, who felt the need to address the media amidst all these obstacles. That should indicate the dire nature of this situation. It won’t be long until we find out what to make of these remarks, however.

The Yankees are slated to take on the white-hot Tampa Bay Rays this weekend, who’ve jumped out to a sizable lead in the AL East and already have 25 wins on the season. The Rays have proven their early-season undefeated streak was no fluke, and will now face New York seven times in the next 10 games. So if ever there was a time to back up words with action, now would be that opportunity for the Yankees.

It’s not through fortune or divine intervention that the Bronx Bombers are a playoff team every season. Brian Cashman consistently builds rosters worthy enough of the postseason. The standard in Yankee land is championship or bust, though, to which Cashman has failed to meet expectations in every season since 2009. This is what has made him wildly unpopular with Yankees fans, and why they likely don’t believe it when he says this current team is of a “championship-caliber.”

All of this is to say that Tampa Bay is next on the schedule. They look like a championship-caliber team in the early going. Now it’s time to see if the Yankees can match the Rays’ energy and vindicate their GM, or whether Brian Cashman will stay convicted of bringing New York’s pedigree down.