LoTradeCoin Wealth Hub

SAN ANTONIO — New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman listened to the stinging criticism, read Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly’s comments trashing his team and will admit that his cub stunk in the World Series.

But to say the Yankees are a comedy show in spikes with all of their defensive blunders, baserunning mistakes and mental lapses? Sorry, Cashman refuses to go there.

They still won the American League pennant. They won the AL East. They won 94 games.

It’s just that on baseball's biggest stage, their blemishes were illuminated for everyone to see.

DODGERS WIN WORLD SERIES: Celebrate with this commemorative coffee table book! 

Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.

The Dodgers were confident that once they beat the San Diego Padres in the NL Division Series they would win the World Series, but Kelly took it a giant step further, saying the Yankees were lazy and one of the worst teams in the postseason.

“We had seen it every single game," Kelly said on his “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast, “just let them throw the ball to the infield. They can’t make a play. It was a mismatch from the get-go. If we had a playoff re-ranking, they might be ranked the eighth or ninth-best playoff team. You’re putting the Padres ahead of them, you’re putting the Phillies ahead of them, you’re putting the Mets ahead of them, you’re putting the Braves ahead of them. … I mean, the Guardians played like crap, but the Guardians played better [defense] and better baseball all around.

“It was just a complete mismatch. All we knew is that we had to just play regular Dodger baseball. We didn’t have to do anything crazy, and we were going to win the World Series. It’s facts. Just look at the team, look at the talent. …

“We go through numerous scouting reports. We pay attention to every single detail. We have a lot of big superstars in our clubhouse, but our superstars also care and aren’t lazy and play hard. So that’s the difference and the biggest separator.”

The Yankees lost the World Series in five games, blowing a 5-0 lead in the final game by committing two actual errors and a mental error when pitcher Gerrit Cole didn’t cover first base, resulting in a 7-6 loss.

“I heard that, I also know people with the Dodgers," Cashman said, “so I’ve got some internal conversations that I’ve got feedback on. I think it’s more representative of some specific players rather than the overall group.

“In Joe’s case, it feels like for some reason it’s a little personal the way he’s been out there talking like he has. … So I can’t make much more than that. I know he’s certainly talking a lot right now, and he won – or they won."

Still, despite its flaws, Cashman isn’t ready to condemn the team and start over. He also won't blame manager Aaron Boone for the World Series woes. He hasn’t spoken yet with Boone about a contract extension or picking up his club option in 2025, but left no doubt that he wants him back.

“I’m a big Aaron Boone fan," Cashman said. “I think he’s a great manager, and I think we’ve been lucky to have him."

Cashman will not let one bad week in October denigrate six months of performance during the regular season.

“First and foremost," Boone said, “I acknowledge that we played poorly in the World Series. We all say that. Unfortunately, our 'A' game didn’t show up when it counted the most. … We did not play well in certain categories, especially in the World Series."

Cashman doesn't think the Dodgers were light years ahead of the Yankees – and that they didn’t have a chance to beat them – but New York just picked a bad time to play its worst baseball of the season.

“They’re the world champs, they get all of the credit," Cashman said, “but I think it’s fair to say we just played poorly in that series and underperformed in that series, more so than this team was lucky to get into the World Series and how did we even get there?

“We had a good team, unfortunately we just didn’t play our best when it counted the most, and we played a good team."

The Yankees now will turn their attention to the free agent and trade markets, in particular, outfielder Juan Soto. The Yankees have no idea whether they can retain Soto, but know that agent Scott Boras is seeking around $700 million. If they can’t land him, the Yankees may use the money to turn to free agents such as third baseman Alex Bregman and first baseman Christian Walker.

Yet, Soto is their top priority, and Cashman informed Boras on Monday that they are prepared to talk whenever he’s ready.

“We are more than willing to meet as many times as he would like to meet," Cashman said, “but I think Scott Boras was going to talk to Juan and get a feel for the dance steps that Juan Soto wants and keep us in the loop. … All I can tell you is we’re going to put our best football forward. We certainly have an interest in retaining him. He knows that. But I have no idea where it goes because he holds all of the cards, and we’ll see where it takes us….

“I’m sure signing him is going to be difficult because he’s a generational-type talent."

The Yankees went through a similar high-priced poker game with Aaron Judge just two years ago and were forced to raise their offer to nine years, $360 million at the last minute to keep Judge instead of letting him leave for the San Francisco Giants. This time, you have the New York Mets with owner Steve Cohen, who’s worth about $20 billion, along with the Toronto Blue Jays, who still have the $700 million that Shohei Ohtani didn’t take them from last year. It’s unknown whether any other teams will be involved.

“Every situation is unique," Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins said. “But what we learned from recruiting Shohei is that Toronto is attractive. Great city. Great country. Great market. The ballpark has just gotten better and better, and we have a good team."

It’s unclear how long Soto’s free-agent process will last, but Cashman wasn’t prepared to say how long they’re willing to wait. Still, no matter what Soto ultimately decides, Cashman says he has no remorse making the seven-player trade with the San Diego Padres to acquire him, even if they had him for only one season.

“It was a magical run… " Cashman said. “At the very least I’m really proud that we made a trade to get him in here, to take a run at it in ’24.

“We went all in to try to win the World Series. We got to the World Series. We didn’t win it. But I have no regrets on the move."

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.