The next captain? Yanks 'would consider' it for Judge
Bryan Hoch
@BryanHochNEW YORK ¨C Naming Aaron Judge as the Yankees¡¯ next captain ¡°is something we would consider¡± if the free-agent slugger returns, managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said in an interview that aired on Monday by the YES Network.
The Yankees have not had a captain since Derek Jeter retired following the 2014 season. Without title, Judge has taken on many responsibilities typically ascribed to a captain, prompting teammates like Anthony Rizzo and Nestor Cortes to say Judge should be named captain.
Asked if he believes if that would be important to Judge, Steinbrenner replied: ¡°That, you¡¯ll have to ask him.¡±
Steinbrenner said that he has had ¡°more than one¡± conversation with Judge since the Yankees¡¯ season ended in the American League Championship Series, describing the conversations as ¡°very positive.¡±
¡°I have made it clear to him that [remaining with the Yankees] is our wish,¡± Steinbrenner said. ¡°He means a lot to this organization, and I¡¯ve made it clear to him we¡¯re going to do everything we can to make that happen.¡±
Steinbrenner later added: ¡°If it doesn¡¯t happen, we will move on the best we can. But there¡¯s no doubt he means a lot to the organization and a lot to the fan base, and rightfully so.¡±
The second part of Steinbrenner¡¯s interview with YES will air on Thursday. Part 1 saw Steinbrenner and Meredith Marakovits touch on various other topics.
The postseason outcome
Speaking shortly after the Astros¡¯ World Series victory over the Phillies, Steinbrenner said that he remained ¡°disappointed¡± by the outcome of the ALCS, when Houston swept the Yankees in four games.
¡°We had high expectations, particularly the way we started out this season, more than half the season doing so well,¡± Steinbrenner said. ¡°We¡¯re just going to keep plugging away like we did last year. We improved on defense; we improved in other areas. We¡¯re just going to have to sit down like we always do and see what areas we need improvement. ¡ It¡¯s unacceptable, what happened, no doubt about it.¡±
In recapping the Yankees¡¯ 2022 performance, Steinbrenner indicated that he believes injuries kept the club from maintaining the terrific pace they showed on July 8, when New York was 61-23 and held a 15 1/2-game lead in the American League East.
¡°Had we rolled into the postseason relatively healthy, particularly with a couple of players like [Andrew] Benintendi and [DJ] LeMahieu, really good contact hitters ¨C I think we would have done better in the playoffs,¡± Steinbrenner said.
The next generation
Steinbrenner mentioned ¡°three young kids¡± that the organization is ¡°excited to see more and more of,¡± identifying shortstop Oswald Peraza (the club's No. 3-ranked prospect), infielder/outfielder Oswaldo Cabrera and shortstop Anthony Volpe (Yanks' top prospect, MLB's No. 5). Steinbrenner said that ¡°it¡¯s certainly my intent¡± to field Peraza and Volpe in the middle infield.
¡°We¡¯re very excited about Peraza, Volpe, and we saw what Cabrera can do,¡± Steinbrenner said. ¡°We¡¯re excited about some very young people. They¡¯re going to get playing time. We¡¯ll see how it works out in Spring Training.¡±
Aaron Boone¡¯s return
Under contract through 2024, Boone will return for a sixth season as the Yankees¡¯ manager. Steinbrenner said that he believes Boone continues to be the right man for the job ¡°because the players respect him, they want to play for him and they want to win for him.¡±
¡°Aaron Boone wasn¡¯t responsible for our offense, the slide that they experienced the last couple of months of the season, rolling into the postseason,¡± Steinbrenner said. ¡°That was not his responsibility. Again, we had a lot of injuries, but the players respect him and they want to win for him. That¡¯s an important thing.¡±
Regarding Boone¡¯s in-game decisions, especially during the postseason, Steinbrenner acknowledged that ¡°some of the critique is justified.¡± Steinbrenner then added: ¡°I think he does his homework quite well, deals with his coaches quite well and listens to their advice, even in-game. He makes a lot of good decisions.¡±
Brian Cashman¡¯s status
While Cashman has said that Steinbrenner has expressed interest in having him remain as the club¡¯s general manager, a role he has filled since 1998, Steinbrenner said that he would not discuss Cashman¡¯s contract situation. Though Cashman¡¯s deal expired on Oct. 31, he has continued the day-to-day duties.
¡°I think he¡¯s one of the better GMs in the game,¡± Steinbrenner said. ¡°I¡¯m not saying there¡¯s going to be a change there, but we do not have an agreement at this point.¡±
Moving forward
Largely unprompted, Steinbrenner bristled that ¡°we get accused of being a stagnant organization sometimes. We¡¯re not. We¡¯re constantly evolving.¡± Steinbrenner pointed to the club¡¯s recent investments in performance science, saying that the organization¡¯s decision-making is balanced between analytics and pro scouting.
¡°There¡¯s a lot of opinions out there I could probably get emotional about,¡± Steinbrenner said. ¡°It¡¯s just not accurate. If it was, then we would make changes.¡±