Yankees re-sign Cashman to three-year deal

Oct 10, 2014 - 6:46 PM Bronx, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - The New York Yankees have re-signed general manager Brian Cashman to a three-year contract.

Cashman's previous three-year deal expired at the conclusion of the 2014 season, one which ended without a playoff appearance for the second straight year. The Yankees finished 84-78 this past season, 12 games behind first-place Baltimore in the American League East and four games behind Oakland for the second wild card berth.

New York hadn't missed the postseason in consecutive years since a 12-year drought from 1982 through 1993, not including the 1994 campaign when the postseason was canceled because of a strike.

This year's Yankee squad lost four of its original five members of the starting rotation to injury, but the pitching wasn't the reason the Yankees missed the playoffs. A few of Cashman's free-agent acquisitions from last winter struggled at the plate, as catcher Brian McCann and outfielder Carlos Beltran had subpar seasons, while Jacoby Ellsbury had only an average year.

Cashman's best signing was Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, who led the staff with 13 wins in 20 starts despite missing two months with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament.

In addition, Cashman also obtained pitcher Brandon McCarthy, third baseman Chase Headley and infielder Martin Prado in mid-season trades. All three helped the Yankees stay in the playoff race until the final week of the season.

The Yankees will have a few holes to fill this winter, starting at shortstop in the wake of the retirement of Derek Jeter. Alex Rodriguez is set to return from a year-long suspension and closer David Robertson is set to become a free agent.

Cashman will enter his 18th season as Yankees GM in 2015 and has the third- longest tenure among current general managers, behind only San Francisco's Brian Sabean and Oakland's Billy Beane. He is the second-longest Yankees GM, behind only Ed Barrow, who directed the Yankees' front office from October 1920 through February 1945.

The Yankees have a winning percentage of .594 under Cashman with four World Series titles, six AL pennants, 12 division crowns and two wild card berths. He was also the assistant GM for the 1996 World Series championship team and moved into the top job in 1998 at the age of 30.