Brian Cashman has cleared the air with Giancarlo Stanton.
The Yankees general manager drew the ire of Stanton’s agent, Joel Wolfe, on Tuesday after stating that the slugger will likely end up getting hurt again during last week’s general managers meetings in Arizona. On Thursday, Cashman spoke at Covenant House’s Sleep Out event, which raises awareness for youth homelessness, in Times Square. During the event, he said that he reached out to Stanton and Wolfe this week.
Cashman came away from those chats feeling “like everything’s in a good spot.”
“I was surprised how it got twisted and turned and played out or what have you,” Casman said. “I said what I said, so that’s why I certainly had the conversations. I value Giancarlo Stanton as a player, without a doubt. He’s one of the big drivers of when we do win. He’s one of the few players you bring to New York that hasn’t backed down, that’s handled himself in a professional manner through thick and thin. This is one of the few players that, when the money’s on the line, if you look at his postseason numbers, is pretty impressive. So he’s a gifted, talented player. He’s a feared hitter, obviously, and we’d love to be able to deploy him at all times. But anyway, I made the phone calls after. Again, I was caught off guard when, about a week later, everything became something that was never intended, because my comments weren’t intended to poke anything at anybody. I was just answering a question.
“But regardless, I got a lot of respect for Joel and, more importantly, for our player, Giancarlo Stanton.”
Cashman’s original words came on Nov. 7 during a fiery group media session at the GM meetings. While responding to a question about Eric Cressey and the Yankees’ injury woes, Cashman voluntarily brought up Stanton.
“We try to limit the time he’s down,” Cashman said in Arizona. “But I’m not gonna tell you he’s gonna play every game next year because he’s not. He’s going to wind up getting hurt again more likely than not because it seems to be part of his game. But I know that when he’s right and healthy – other than this past year – the guy’s a great hitter and has been for a long time.”
That comment went viral on Monday, prompting a response from Wolfe.
“I read the context of the interview,” Wasserman’s Joel Wolfe told The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal on Tuesday. “I think it’s a good reminder for all free agents considering signing in New York both foreign and domestic that to play for that team you’ve got to be made of Teflon, both mentally and physically because you can never let your guard down even in the offseason.”
Wolfe’s mention of free agents “foreign and domestic” was notable, as he also represents Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Yankees have been heavily linked to the righty, who is expected to be posted in the coming days.
On Thursday, Cashman said that he’s not worried about Wolfe’s representation of Yamamoto impacting the Yankees’ potential pursuit of the righty.
As for Stanton, the former MVP suffered the worst offensive season of his career in 2023, slashing .191/.275/.420 with 24 home runs and 60 RBI while missing a chunk of time due to a hamstring strain.
He is hitting .202/.286/.442 since 2022 began, and his history of lower-body injuries has severely limited his mobility.
“It’s been something that we’ve been working through and working on for a long time without the results that we want,” Cashman said when asked about improving Stanton’s mobility at the GM meetings. “So I don’t have an answer to that. I know he’s frustrated by it. We know he’s certainly better than what we saw last year.”
