Cashman strikes out with pitching disasters

In addition to poor roster construction, bad drafts and a lousy farm system, Yankees GM Brian Cashman has struck out time and time again in his efforts to build a strong pitching staff.

Since Andy Pettitte made his debut in 1995, the Yankees have failed to produce a top-flight starting pitcher. So Cashman has banked on trades and free agent pickups to try and build a competitive mound corps.

Sure he’s landed some good ones, including Hall of Famer Mike Mussina, CC Sabathia and Gerrit Cole. But let’s face it, those were no brainers, easy acquisitions given New York’s financial war chest.

More often than not, however, Cashman’s pitching acquisitions have flamed out. The latest disaster is the oft-injured Carlos Rodon, shown above leaving the field after another injury, who the Yankees picked up in the off-season with a six-year, $162 payout. So far Rodon is 1-5 and..surprise, surprise…is currently on the IL once again.

Here, in chronological order, are 10 pitches who have flamed out during the Cashman regime, now 25 years and counting.

Jeff Weaver – Leave it to Weaver to fail in New York. He was dealt to the Yankees as part of a three-team trade with the Tigers and A’s in July of 2002. In his two seasons with the Yankees Weaver, right, was a cumulative 12-12 with a 5.00 ERA. He’s remembered best for giving up a 12th inning, walk-off home run to Alex Gonzalez in Game 4 of the 2003 World Series that propelled the Marlins to an eventual six-game Series win.

Kevin Brown – Acquired from the Dodgers in 2003 for a package that included Jeff Weaver, Brown flamed out in New York. His underwhelming two-year mark of 14-13 with a 4.95 ERA was bad enough, but Kevin “Game Seven” Brown was the losing pitcher in the final game against the Red Sox in 2004, when Boston rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win the ALCS and break the “Curse of the Bambino.”

Javier Vazquez – Vazquez was initially traded to the Yankees by the Montreal Expos prior to the 2004 season. Compounding the problem, he was reacquired by New York from the Braves in 2009. His two-year record with the Yankees was 24-20 with a 5.09 ERA. He did win one playoff game, but had a post-season ERA over 9.00.

Karl Pavano – The American Idle was signed by New York for fours year and $38 million in 2004. The return – a 9-8 record and 5.00 ERA over years, most of which were spent on the disabled list.

Randy Johnson – Although he did win 17 games in each of his two seasons in the Bronx, Johnson was acquired in a trade with the Diamondbacks in 2005 to help the Yankees win the World Series. The Big Unit was a total disaster in his two playoff starts, routed by the Angels in 2005 and the Tigers in 2006 in a pair of ALDS failures. Two years later, he was shipped back to Arizona.

Kei Igawa – The Yankees acquired Igawa from the Hanshin Tigers of Japan in 2007 and gave him a princely five-year, $20 million contract. He won just two games with an overall 6.66 ERA, and was out of baseball a year later. Not exactly the type of production the Yankees were looking for.

Michael Pineda – The Yankees considered Pineda a stud starter when they acquired him in a trade with the Mariners in 2012. In four years in New York, he was a middling 31-31 with a 4.16 ERA.

Sonny Gray – A success everywhere else, Sonny Gray couldn’t handle the New York stage. Acquired in a trading deadline deal with the A’s in 2017, his Yankee career line was 15 –16 with a 4.51 ERA. The Yankees sent Gray, right, to the Reds in 2019. He’s since made All-Star appearances with both Cincinnati and Minnesota.

J.A. Happ – The acclaimed Red Sox killer was traded to New York in 2018 by the Blue Jays, but failed miserably. He lasted just two innings in a 5-4 loss to Boston in Game One of the ALDS, as the Yanks were knocked out in four games. Following three vanilla seasons in New York, he was signed as a free agent by the Twins.

Frankie Montas – The Yankees acquired Montas in a trade with the A’s at the 2022 deadline. Montas was 1-3 in eight starts with the Yankees with a 6.30 ERA and gave up a home run in his lone inning pitching in the playoffs last year. Cashman knew Montas was an injury risk – he hasn’t thrown a single pitch this season.

Among his many flaws as a GM, Cashman seems to have a penchant for picking up pitchers with a injury histories. Rodon, who’s currently on the injured list for the second time this year, has made a career of begging hurt. Some describe Rodon as Frankie Montas disguised as a southpaw. .

Among other Cashman busts in recent years are Andrew Heaney, James Paxton, Jaime Garcia and Lance Lynn.

Despite these failures and more – the Yankees haven’t won a World Series since 2009 – Cashman can seem to do no wrong in the eyes of Hal Steinbrenner. And the beat goes on.