Did Brian Cashman stop Yankees from making giant Freddie Freeman mistake?

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman might’ve gotten in the way of signing Freddie Freeman to a contract north of his overall value.

Freeman would go on to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but there was a reason both the Braves and Yanks failed to add on a sixth year to his contract offer.

In the end, Los Angeles did, paying Freeman six years at $162 million to sign with his boyhood team. Freeman grew up in California, so if he wasn’t going to re-sign with the Braves, going home made the most sense.

However, could the Yankees have been a potential destination? A recent report by Bob Klapisch suggests Cashman had to “keep Steinbrenner from overpaying for Freddie Freeman, instead betting on the more modestly-priced Anthony Rizzo.”

Did Brian Cashman keep Yankees from signing Freddie Freeman?

Rizzo’s electric start to the 2022 season has kept most fans happy, and Cashman looks smart if it really was his call to stomp out any Freeman contract.

But, as Yanks Go Yard’s Thomas Carranante points out, there are several questions left unanswered from this report:

"“This is worth pondering a few things. Could Cashman have been influenced by Steinbrenner’s frugal-ish ways and now operates in a more strategic manner rather than a ruthless one? Or was he staring down the barrel of being financially restricted by Steinbrenner down the road had he signed Freeman to a six-year deal? Or was he actually just not sold on Freeman and the amount of money he was looking for?”"

If it’s either of the latter two, then Cashman clearly talked his boss out of making a move that he felt would restrict the franchise financially in the coming years.

To be fair, it is in Cashman’s job description to run the baseball operations department of the Yankees. If he doesn’t have the necessary funds to do just that in the near future, then the on-field product won’t reflect what we’ve come to expect from New York.

A little over a month in, it’s tough to argue with Cashman’s lobbying.