Yanks Want Cashman to Make Up His Mind

Yankees GM Brian Cashman's future has been a topic of discussion all year, but now that the Yankees have officially been eliminated, Hank and Hal Steinbrenner want to know his intentions now. Technically, Cashman's current deal doesn't expire until the end of the October, but Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman said the Steinbrenner Bros. want to know Cashman's intentions by next week.

Most baseball people believe that for a variety of reasons, including an excellent working relationship with Hank Steinbrenner's younger, quieter brother Hal, Cashman will choose to return to the job he's held for 11 years. Cashman is expected to give both Steinbrenners his answer as early as next Monday or Tuesday. Negotiations on his new deal would begin the moment Cashman provides the go-ahead and are not expected to take long.

The Steinbrenner Bros. have made it clear that they'd love to bring Cashman back, and simply because of the market you'd have to imagine they'd be willing to make him the highest-paid GM in the game. Even so, Heyman suggests that Cashman might be intrigued by potential front-office openings in Seattle, Philadelphia and maybe even Washington. (Really? He'd jump from the spend-happy Yankees to the thrifty Nationals? Talk about a culture shock.)

No other team can offer the resources for Cashman to do his job like the Yankees can, but in turn he must deal with extremely high expectations. My hunch is that Cashman stays, but only with assurances that Hal will keep Hank in check and allow Cashman to do his job without meddling from the top. Whether that's a concession Hank would actually agree to remains to be seen.