Free agency
Historically, the Yankees’ approach to free agency has been simple: If you want something, buy it.
This winter, that meant winning a bidding war for AL home run record setter Aaron Judge. It cost $360 million through 2031, but, in December, Cashman got his man. Hey, it’s only money.
Then Judge got hurt, restricting his availability to 49 games. They’ve been good games, involving 19 home runs, a .291 average and a 1.7 WAA. Even good GMs can’t always prevent injury.
Cashman also re-signed first baseman Anthony Rizzo, in his case for $54 million through 2025. Rizzo’s batting .268 with 11 home runs and a +0.4 WAA. Is that recompense for one-half season’s worth of $54 million? The Yanks may think so.
Overall, Cashman signed, re-signed or extended 13 free agents to a collective value of +4.0 WAA. The Yankees may have a lot of money, but at least they seem to use it productively.
They did lose seven players to the open market, and the scope of those losses has been varied. Veteran starter Jameson Taillon (-1.5) went to Chicago’s North Side, and if the Cubs don’t fight their way above .500 Taillon (2-6 with a 6.90 ERA) may well be the reason. Veteran closer Aroldis Chapman (+0.5) signed with Kansas City. The latter is having a nice season; unfortunately, he’s having it for the Kansas City Royals so nobody knows about it.
Aaron Hicks (+0.3), basically run out of the Bronx, landed in Baltimore and has found regular productive work there.