Last season, the Yankees won 94 games, but they didn’t do well when it mattered most. As the team gets ready for another run, a former Yankees star is calling out General Manager Brian Cashman for making the same mistakes over and over. People are frustrated because the front office wants to bring back old players instead of finding new ways to win a championship, but outfielder Austin Slater seems to be an issue.

Clint Frazier, who used to play for the Yankees, posted a harsh review of General Manager Brian Cashman’s way of thinking on his YouTube channel. Frazier stated, “I feel like this whole offseason is just the definition of insanity for all of us. This team’s the same…basically what he’s trying to say is that we lost a few pitchers, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams. We have a few guys coming back from the injured list…the only player that’s coming back off the injured list that wasn’t on the team last year, at least to my knowledge, is Gerrit Cole.”

He continued: “There’s a player that was a part of that team the year before that’s a free agent, that somehow is being linked back to the Yankees. They have already gotten four to five players from that team back.”

Frazier’s frustration stems from tangible evidence. The Yankees have re-signed Bellinger, Rosario, Hill, and Yarbrough. They are also reportedly going after Paul Goldschmidt and now Slater. Cashman has also said that getting back injured pitchers like Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt, and Carlos Rodón is like making trades. The pattern suggests that the front office is betting on bounce-back seasons instead of changing the roster, which is a risky move since Slater only hit .120 in 14 games with New York last year.

Brendan Kuty of The Athletic said that the organization is still interested in Slater. He said, “Another league source said the Yankees made a major-league offer earlier this offseason to outfielder Austin Slater.” Slater has a career wRC+ of 119 against lefties. Before last season’s trade deadline, the Yankees got Slater from the Chicago White Sox. However, he spent most of the second half on the injured list with a left hamstring strain.

Slater’s profile explains why the Yankees keep going after him even though he had a terrible time in pinstripes. His 119 wRC+ against left-handed pitching is almost 20% higher than the league average for that split. In 2025, he hit five home runs in just 85 at-bats against lefties, or one every 17 at-bats. But the 33-year-old’s history of injuries and -0.4 WAR in 2024 make him a risky choice for a team that needs more right-handed hitters behind Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

Does Randal Grichuk fit what the Yankees really need?

The Yankees know that bringing back old players won’t work. The front office knows that something has to change because the team went 94-68 last year and lost in the playoffs. They are now looking for outfielders who hit right-handed, both in free agency and through trades. This change shows that the organization finally gets that keeping the same team won’t help them win the championship.

The Yankees are really interested in Randal Grichuk. Last year, the 33-year-old played for two different teams. He started with Arizona and then was traded to Kansas City in the middle of the season. Grichuk had 175 at-bats in Arizona and hit .240 with seven home runs and a .734 OPS. After moving to Kansas City, everything went wrong. He only had a .566 OPS in less than 100 at-bats.

Grichuk is interesting because he can play more than one position. Last season, he was a designated hitter for 48 games and could also play any outfield position, but mostly right field. What’s the real problem? His defense isn’t doing well. Baseball Savant says that Grichuk is in the bottom 15% of players for defense, with a score of minus-6 Outs Above Average. That means his glove work is making the team lose runs.

The Yankees now have to make a tough decision. They can keep using old players like Slater, or they can take a chance on someone like Grichuk, even though he has defensive issues. Either way, the front office finally understands that just bringing back the same players won’t win them a championship.