Day: March 12, 2026

George M. Steinbrenner Field (Tampa) – Brian Cashman walked into his office at the spring training facility for the New York Yankees and pulled up a TikTok video on his iPad. He had already seen this video but thought it was funny enough to watch it again. The team’s general manager laughed as the clip showed two men arguing with each other, before one of them threw his Big Gulp cup at a car. The liquid from the cup smothered the car windows, the men continued yelling, and the video ended. Watching inherently silly TikTok videos is “a nice diversion from the noise,” Cashman told me when we sat down in his office to discuss what it’s like being the longest-tenured GM in Major League Baseball. When he’s not scrolling, he’s busy building a championship-caliber roster, modernizing the organization with wide-ranging changes, and fine-tuning his baseball operations department. The noise, in this case, is a relentless stream of criticism and title expectations. Cashman, too, said he has a ticking clock in his head, reminding him that the Yankees haven’t won a championship since 2009. Due to that drought, criticism of Cashman has become as predictable as October in the Bronx. Every roster decision by the Yankees GM is dissected. Every postseason exit is used as evidence that the architect of baseball’s most successful and scrutinized franchise has lost his touch. Debate around Cashman has played out forcefully in New York. He’s anatomized on talk radio, across social media, and in the stands at Yankee Stadium. The argument is familiar: the Yankees should win more and spend more, and they should think differently. Cashman hears it all, even when he’s no longer trying to, even if he barely responds anymore. What the public sees, though, is only part of the story. “I’m pretty simple,” Cashman said. “The reason we’re able to adjust and change is because I am very open-minded, and I challenge our staff to be the same way. If someone’s doing something better than we are, we have to figure that out as fast as we possibly can, and then adapt and adjust and grow because of it.” Inside the organization’s walls and across major-league front offices, Cashman is revered as a brilliant executive who has survived multiple baseball eras and worked under two different ownership styles with aplomb. “It is next to impossible to have the longevity he’s had for any team,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “To do it in New York makes it kind of unthinkable in this day and age. I think it speaks to his talent. I think it speaks to his leadership capabilities. It has to speak to his ability to compartmentalize and focus on what is important to do his job, and he’s done it incredibly successfully. Whenever he decides he’s had enough, we’ll all be celebrating in Cooperstown shortly thereafter.” Cashman started as a Yankees intern in 1986 in the minor-league scouting department. After he graduated from college, the team offered him a full-time job as a baseball operations assistant. Back then, analytics departments were tiny, sports science barely existed, and the game’s most famous franchise operated largely on instinct and tradition. Cashman took over as general manager in 1998 and has overseen four World Series titles and 23 postseason appearances. Since then, the Yankees have produced a winning record for 33 consecutive seasons, second longest in MLB history behind the team’s 39-season streak from 1926-1964. Cashman believes everything from the aesthetics of the Yankees clubhouse to the recent renovations inside the spring training facilities to the tireless work of his staff has played a significant part in making the organization a well-oiled winning machine. Plus, he’s constantly drawing inspiration from other marquee sport franchises. ​”It’s not like I can intimately get behind the scenes of the Cincinnati Reds and see what they’re doing,” Cashman said. “But I can do that with the University of Kentucky. I can do that with the New York Giants or the Brooklyn Nets or Alabama football or, the New Zealand All Blacks or Manchester City or Arsenal or what have you. We can do that with a lot of different other environments or even businesses that aren’t sports related, and we try to engage and find out what drives their culture. “How do they manage their processes and why? And if they’re successful, why? Is it just because they have great leadership? Is it because they got lucky? Is it because they rely on certain core principles?” Key To Success: Constant Change Twenty or thirty years ago, Cashman struck up a conversation with a bartender at a Ritz-Carlton during a Yankees road trip and learned about their official Code of Conduct, a sheet of paper that every employee had to carry in their pocket at all times. It outlined ethical and behavioral guidelines for all employees of the luxury hotel brand, including management. Cashman doesn’t remember if he took a picture of the sheet or the bartender gave him a copy of one, but he took it home to study it. He found ways to embody those guidelines as a part of his own leadership styles. Through the years, Cashman has developed relationships with various sports executives, everyone from the Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien Brisebois to the Philadelphia Eagles GM Howie Roseman. They send each other articles on leadership and exchange ideas on how to improve. Cashman is still curious about outside ideas and finds ways to incorporate them into his baseball operations. Sometimes, that inspiration arrives in unusual ways. Recently, he went down an escalator at the newly renovated LaGuardia Airport and snapped photos of a design he liked. He shared it with his staff and Yankee Stadium operations, and they worked to incorporate the design into the ballpark. “Brian has tried to keep the Yankees more relevant and more current and modern,” former Yankees manager Buck Showalter told me. “And, all the while, he doesn’t take himself too seriously. I got a lot of respect for him, he started on the ground level and worked his way up.” Cashman learned from Showalter that altering the atmosphere in little and big ways prevents the environment from becoming stale. He believes part of the reason the Yankees went to the World Series in 2024 is because of the renovations he helped initiate at their Tampa facility that year. Cashman said that those multimillion-dollar upgrades, including a health and wellness center, extended batting cages, and a player lounge, compelled players to spend more time at the ballpark. His incessant hunt for fresh changes and ideas are all designed to help the on-field product produce more wins and have fun doing it. Netflix recently shared its company values with the public, and Cashman absorbed it like a sponge. “Constantly trying to change and remake yourself is important,” Cashman said. “I just want to find out what’s underneath the hood and what makes somebody or some company or some sports entity tick. And if they’re having success, there are reasons behind it.” Micro-Manager? ‘I’m The Opposite’ The public perception is that Cashman is stubborn. The fanbase’s disapproval of him reached an all-time intensity after the 2023 season, when the Yankees missed the playoffs and came under fire for their analytical approach. Cashman was on way to the annual GM Meetings that offseason when Yankees media relations tried to warn him about the brutal line of questioning headed his way. The heat was going to be turned all the way up, but Cashman wasn’t interested in mincing his words. In a lengthy scrum with the media, Cashman defended his front office in a curse-laden rebuttal of the perception that the Yankees should clean house because their baseball ops had become ineffective. The GM, criticized for protecting manager Aaron Boone and the rest of his coaches, analytics and player development staff, believes the negative public perception and the internal success of his baseball ops is worlds apart. The following season, the Yankees went to the World Series. He doesn’t regret a single word he said in that infamous scrum. “I’m definitely not a micro-manager,” Cashman told me. “I’m the opposite. I am someone that will hire people I consider smarter than me and that have expertise in that area. And then I empower you to do your job. I will support you every step of the way, including in that scrum, defending you to the hilt, because you still might not be on top. But if you’ve done everything you possibly could do, and you’re really good at what you do, then I’m gonna have your back no matter what.” Part of the reason that eruption from Cashman went viral was because he doesn’t say much these days. He also doesn’t read or listen to what people are saying about him. He doesn’t have social media on his phone anymore, besides TikTok. It’s a complete reversal of how he used to start his days, by returning calls from reporters and appearing on the field pregame to answer any questions and divulge his processes. In recent years, the GM has learned that explaining decisions rarely quiets criticism. It only fuels it. “The media coverage is completely different,” Cashman said. “To the point where now, I’m very reclusive.” While the debate about the Yankees’ direction continues outside, Cashman has increasingly stepped back from the conversation, focusing instead on the work inside the organization he has spent nearly three decades shaping. That’s not to say he’s at peace with the fan base’s perception of him. He knows a large segment of Yankees fans are frustrated that Cashman is running back the same roster this year as the one they ended with last season. “Stuff like that bothers me,” he said. After all, last year’s team tied the Toronto Blue Jays for the best record in the American League East before it lost to the Blue Jays in the AL Division Series. Plus, ace Gerrit Cole will return from injury this year. So it won’t be the same team as last season, he said. People are getting that wrong. Why, then, doesn’t he speak up more? “I’ve learned over the course of time, it doesn’t matter what you say,” Cashman said. “What do you do? I can try to fight like Don Quixote with the windmills out there and all those battles all the time. But is that a really efficient use of my time? “Like at the end of the day, I know all that’s going to matter is if we’re winning games. And even when we are winning games, it still won’t matter. Because there’s a lot of narratives out there that just aren’t the case. Like, to this day, I’m definitely frustrated with the one narrative that the manager is the puppet and we’re dictating his moves. None of it’s true.” Cashman has tried to refute a long-believed narrative that Boone doesn’t make any decisions, including lineup construction and in-game bullpen management, and that the GM maps out a game plan for the manager ahead of time. For years, he’s seen his comments get pulled apart, misinterpreted and weaponized. Cashman realized it was unhealthy for him to spend time fighting battles against false narratives. So he stopped, for the most part. “I’d rather people be right,” he said. “But I’ve gotten to a level, too, where it’s almost like I accept it. I can’t change people’s minds. They want to believe what they want to believe no matter what. It’s like politics and conspiracy theories. You can try to prove it scientifically, prove it with people testifying under oath or like, I can roll out former managers, you can ask those guys. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t mean anything. People still say it. So it’s like, well, then what am I going to do?” Cashman’s Legacy? It’s Complicated Boone, sitting in his desk chair in his office at George M. Steinbrenner Field, leaned back and smiled as he recounted day-to-day instances of Cashman being a “practical joker.” One time, Boone was upset about something, and Cashman called the manager’s office phone and disguised his voice. Other times, he’s carried in his pocket some paper snappers, which produce a loud exploding pop when thrown, to mess with people. “​​He takes something that happens in our day-to-day, something serious, and he’ll lean into it and make it humorous,” Boone said. “But what I really admire about him is his consistency. He’s funny, but ​​he’s willing to have any difficult conversation and hold people to the fire. To do it with the excellence he’s done, for as long as he’s done it, it’s remarkable. It takes a very special talent, evaluator, and vision to have that sustained excellence. Even though we haven’t won, he’s putting together a championship-caliber program all the time. I think he’s a Hall of Famer.” There is no job in baseball where success is defined so narrowly as the one Cashman holds with the Yankees. In most cities, consistent playoff appearances would be celebrated. In the Bronx, trips to October are treated as disappointments without, at the very least, a World Series appearance. That dynamic has made Cashman one of the most criticized executives in the sport — and one of the longest tenured. Cashman’s tenure is defined by a remarkable absence of losing seasons, a high level of sustained success, a lengthy championship drought and a heavy dose of frustration. It’s complicated. He finds it excruciatingly difficult to reflect on his career, particularly because he’s not done. He wants to change the narrative, and he knows the only way to do that is by winning. “Reggie Jackson was one of the most prolific home run hitters of all time,” Cashman said. “But he was also one of the most prolific strikeout leaders of all time. As the game is playing out, he might’ve had three strikeouts his first three at-bats. But he could always change the narrative with one swing. “So, I’m still swinging.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Just like many of us, executives, agents and scouts around the NFL were amazed by some of the moves made across the league in the opening days of free agency. We surveyed insiders around the NFL on who they think the winners and losers of free agency are to this point, along with which contracts they thought were the best and worst. One NFL executive lauded a team’s all-in approach, while an agent didn’t like one of the $100 million contracts handed out this week. So, which teams improved the most in the first week of free agency? Which contract was the biggest overpay? Here’s what we learned in our conversations with executives, agents and scouts around the NFL. [2026 NFL Free Agency Grades] *** Jets, Raiders get their rebuilds off to good starts: ‘They didn’t do anything stupid’ Ralph Vacchiano: The teams that spend the most in free agency aren’t always the ones that do the best. In fact, some years the biggest spenders turn into the biggest flops. But two teams that had money to burn this week got positive reviews from several NFL scouts and executives. So maybe there is finally some hope for the Las Vegas Raiders and the New York Jets. “I’m not saying either one of them will be good,” an assistant general manager told me. “But I liked their approach (to free agency). They didn’t do anything stupid.” The Jets, in particular, “completely rebuilt their defense,” as one scout told me, “but they did it without taking an unnecessary big swing. Every guy they signed is a solid veteran player. And none of them broke anyone’s bank.” Their signings included linebacker Demario Davis (two years, $22 million), edge rusher Joseph Ossai (three years, $36 million), and a trade for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (three years, $40 million). They also took an inexpensive, one-year, $5.5 million shot at cornerback Nahshon Wright, who went to the Pro Bowl last year. “Aaron Glenn is a defensive guy, and he could see that after the trades last year [of defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and cornerback Sauce Gardner], he had nothing to build around,” an AFC executive told me. “He still needs to find stars, but now he has a foundation, at least in the short term. He can start to build a program, even if most of these guys won’t be around when the Jets are finally good.” The Jets didn’t get a lot of praise for their decision to trade for Geno Smith and make him their quarterback, but the executive told me, “It’s not like they had good options. At least he didn’t cost them much.” As for the Raiders, their situation was complicated by the collapse of the Maxx Crosby trade — a deal the assistant GM told me “would’ve made their offseason a grand slam.” He said their spending “was a little crazier [than the Jets’], but they had cap room to burn, so who cares? And if they had gotten two first-round picks on top of that for a player who didn’t want to be there? Wow.” Even without those picks, the Raiders still got the No. 1 center on the market (Tyler Linderbaum, three years, $81 million), a sleeper at receiver (Jalen Nailor, three years, $35 million) and a trio of solid defensive players (edge rusher Kwitty Paye for three years, $48 million; linbebacker Quay Walker for three years, $40.5 million and linebacker Nakobe Dean for three years, $36 million). “They’re all about the quarterback,” the scout told me of the Raiders, who are expected to draft Fernando Mendoza with the first pick of the draft. “But you can’t say ‘nothing else matters’. They needed to fix the defense so they could keep him in games. They needed to protect him. They had to get him a receiver. “Forget the prices. They did all that. It wasn’t a franchise-changing [spending] spree, but it was a really solid start.” *** Rams make it clear they’re going for it again Vacchiano: The Los Angeles Rams know they are loaded for a Super Bowl run, and they knew their biggest problem was their secondary. Consider that hole plugged. The Rams made a huge, pre-market trade for cornerback Trent McDuffie that cost them a first-round pick and more (not to mention the four-year, $124 million contract they gave him). Then they signed cornerback Jaylen Watson to a three-year, $51 million. The moves were expensive, but as one NFL executive told me, “How can you not admire them for going for it? They know that with a 38-year-old quarterback, this is their last shot, maybe for a couple of years. So screw the future. Go for it now. If they win the Super Bowl, no one will care if they have to suffer for a couple of years.” *** More winners and losers from free agency Vacchiano: Several other teams came up in conversations with league personnel about winners and losers in free agency: *** Agent: Thumbs up on Malik Willis’ deal to Dolphins Eric D. Williams: In a quarterback market where Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa will make significantly more money from their former teams while playing for their new teams and Daniel Jones signed a deal worth up to $100 million to stay in Indianapolis, an NFL agent pointed to a player with only six starts as one of the best negotiated contracts in free agency. Yes, the Miami Dolphins’ signing of Malik Willis to a three-year, $67.5 million contract that includes $45 million in guaranteed money was one of the best signings in free agency. “All of these deals are exercises in risk management,” the agent told me. And the Dolphins mitigated some of that risk because of their familiarity with Willis. Head coach Jeff Hafley served as the defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers while Willis backed up Jordan Love at quarterback. And Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan worked as vice president of player personnel for the Packers before being hired by the Dolphins. “The most pragmatic deal would be Miami’s Malik Willis deal,” the agent told me. “They will deal with the ramifications of a – in hindsight — bad QB deal [Tua] this year. They did a good job of being pragmatic in their new starting QB deal for Willis. “Given how expensive and risky the QB market is, this Willis deal is spot on in terms of proper value while mitigating the downside risk.” *** Commanders’ deal with edge rusher Odafe Oweh not as popular, though Williams: On the other end of the spectrum, the agent pointed to former Los Angeles Chargers edge rusher Odafe Oweh signing a four-year, $100 million deal with the Washington Commanders that includes $68 million in guaranteed money. Oweh, 27, finished with 7.5 sacks in 12 games with the Chargers are going without a sack in the first five games of the 2025 season with Baltimore, playing 513 snaps between stints with the Ravens and Chargers last season after a midseason trade to L.A. Washington appears to be betting on the potential of a breakout campaign for Oweh, but the agent I spoke with has reservations. “There’s a reason Baltimore traded him to the Chargers last season,” the agent told me. “Moreover, I’m not sure that his one year of production in Los Angeles [relative to his lack of production in Baltimore] equates to $25 million a year to me.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

With the 2026 league year underway, the flurry of NFL free-agent deals and trades we’ve seen over the past several days are now official. One huge trade, of course, didn’t quite make it to the new league year. We’ll get into that in detail. So who are the big winners to this point? And which teams are worse off? In descending order, here are my top four winners and losers through the early wave of free agency: Winners 4. Carolina Panthers The Panthers surprised the NFL world by reaching the playoffs last season, and now they’ve added big-time help to what was an average defense. Former Jaguars All-Pro Devin Lloyd (three years, $45 million) was one of the top off-ball linebackers available in free agency, and ex-Eagles edge Jaelan Phillips (four years, $120 million) was one of the top pass rushers on the market. Carolina also added Kenny Pickett as a backup behind fourth-year quarterback Bryce Young. The Panthers are positioned to take another leap forward in 2026. 3. Tennessee Titans The Titans took full advantage of their more than $90 million in cap space at the start of the offseason, investing heavily in starters such as wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson (four years, $78 million), defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers (three years, $63 million) and cornerbacks Alontae Taylor (three years, $60 million) and Cor’Dale Flott (three years, $45 million). Spending big in free agency doesn’t guarantee success, but if done the right way with a quarterback on a rookie contract, it can thrust a team into contention quickly. Just look at QB Drake Maye and the Patriots, who made the Super Bowl last season after winning four games in 2024. And the Titans were intentional in adding players that coach Robert Saleh and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll know well from past stops. On paper, Saleh now has a competent defense to work with in his first year as Titans head coach. 2. Baltimore Ravens The perception of the Ravens took a hit for backing out of their proposed trade for Raiders edge Maxx Crosby, as evident by what league executives told our Eric D. Williams and Ralph Vacchiano. But Baltimore is undoubtedly a better team moving forward. General manager Eric DeCosta said Wednesday that he was interested in pairing Crosby with Trey Hendrickson. In the end, the Ravens came away with the former Bengals edge (four years, $112 million) — a four-time Pro Bowler — and retained the first-round picks in 2026 and ‘27 they would’ve lost in the Crosby deal. 1. New England Patriots The reigning AFC-champion Patriots added long-term upside at wide receiver with Romeo Doubs (four years, $80 million), who’s seven years younger than Stefon Diggs (released last week). Worst case scenario, Doubs is a No. 2 option for third-year QB Drake Maye. The Pats got much-needed offensive line help in Alijah Vera-Tucker (three years, $42 million), too. They’re taking on some risk in Vera-Tucker — the former first-round pick missed all of last season with a torn triceps — but he was a Pro Bowl-caliber guard for the Jets when healthy, so he could wind up as a major steal. New England also shored up its starting defense with former Bears safety Kevin Byard (one year, $8 million), the NFL’s interception leader last season, and veteran pass-rusher Dre’Mont Jones (three years, $39.5 million), who had seven sacks in 2025. Losers 4. Buffalo Bills By trading for DJ Moore, the Bills nabbed a much-needed No. 1 option for star QB Josh Allen. But the cost to acquire the veteran wide receiver was steep: Buffalo gave Chicago a 2026 second-round pick, and guaranteed $15.5 million of Moore’s 2028 salary as part of the trade. That means the Bills are on the hook for $62.5 million in guarantees for the 28-year-old Moore over the next three seasons, including $47 million fully guaranteed through 2027. 3. Kansas City Chiefs Adding Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III (three years, $53.05 million) gives the Chiefs a dynamic option at running back, but their defense faces major questions after losing three cornerbacks, including All-Pro Trent McDuffie (trade) and fellow starter Jaylen Watson (free agency) to the Rams. The Chiefs have a dwindling window of opportunity with 36-year-old tight end Travis Kelce returning for a 14th season and 31-year-old left tackle Chris Jones. So a team that missed the playoffs last season looks worse off at the moment, though that outlook could change with the draft next month. 2. Indianapolis Colts The Colts needed to retain both quarterback Daniel Jones and wide receiver Alec Pierce, but it looks like they’ve overpaid in order to do so. Indianapolis got just 10 games of elite play from Jones, who’s recovering from a torn Achilles, and are now giving him the largest two-year deal in NFL history, including $50 million fully guaranteed at signing. Sam Darnold got just $37.5 million fully guaranteed at signing a year ago from the Seahawks after a 14-win, Pro Bowl season with the Vikings. Indy gave Pierce a deal worth $28.5 million in average annual value. He would’ve been significantly cheaper had the team extended him after the 2024 season, when he had just over 800 receiving yards. The former second-round pick would’ve been cheaper if a contract had been hammered out earlier this offseason, too, before it became clear that he’d be the top free-agent wide receiver. 1. Las Vegas Raiders We don’t yet know the full ramifications of the Ravens’ decision to pull out of the Maxx Crosby trade. Even if Crosby’s contract (four years and $115.8 million remaining) doesn’t impact the Raiders’ ability to absorb all their free-agent deals, which total more than a quarter-billion dollars in total value, their financial flexibility is still impacted. The franchise had also been operating on the assumption that it would have Baltimore’s first-round picks in 2026 and ‘27, including No. 14 overall this year. That could have massive ramifications on the Raiders’ roster-building approach.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports