When Bryce Harper hit the free-agent market after the 2018 season, he was arguably the most sought-after talent in the baseball world. His combination of power, charisma, and marketability made him an attractive target for many teams, including the New York Yankees. The Bombers, in fact, were strongly linked to Harper and emerged as a perfect landing spot.
However, in 2018, the New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman turned down the opportunity to land Bryce Harper, stating the unavailability of outfield space. At that time, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Aaron Hicks remained the team’s regular outfielders. However, the fans believe that Cashman messed up, and it was a missed opportunity. Having said that, Bill Madden of the New York Daily News recently explained why the GM wasn’t at fault.
Bill Madden Reveals How Bryce Harper’s Agent Fooled Fans Into Believing That Yankees Were A Landing Spot For The Outfielder!
Bryce Harper, whom the New York Yankees gave a free pass in 2019 free agency, is leading the Philadelphia Phillies to another championship. Harper recently delivered a .462, three-homer, five-RBI show against the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS series. This has enraged the Yankee fans as they believe that Bryce would have been doing the same thing in the Bronx had Brian Cashman displayed the guts to sign him in 2019. Just when the blame game gained momentum, pundit Bill Madden of New York Daily News explained the 2019 scenario in detail and made startling revelations.
He said that Harper’s agent, Scott Boras, fed narratives to the media when he didn’t receive the desired offer. Apparently, Boras had asked for a 10-year, $300 million benchmark offer for Bryce Harper, which most teams found ridiculous. Thus, almost every team in MLB, let alone the Yankees, passed on the offer. Only the Phillies agreed to the offer even though their owner, John Middleton, felt it would be a silly deal. Thus, Madden said that Cashman wasn’t at fault as Harper’s ask seemed unreasonable at that time. The Phillies just got lucky, says Madden, who was also against the acquisition at the time. Having said that, Brian Cashman cannot get away from fans’ scrutiny as his past record, even barring Bryce Harper, has been dubious per se.
Brian Cashman Let Off The Hook Despite Brutal 2023 Season!
Meanwhile, despite a poor acquisition record, Brian Cashman is going to keep his job for the foreseeable future. As per Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, the team will undergo massive changes. But those changes are unlikely to be personnel changes. This suggests that Cashman will remain a part of the leadership group, at least for the 2024 season.
Brian Cashman was a part of the first round of meetings held in Tampa last week. According to Hal Steinbrenner, the leadership group held positive discussions. While the conversations got heated at times, the personnel were respectful and had only the franchise’s best interest in mind. Overall, Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone will play a huge role in shaping the Yankees’ 2024 season and the future beyond.
