The New York Yankees seem cursed in recent history. Every few offseasons, Brian Cashman decides to make a huge roster move, but all of his trades and acquisitions are starting to backfire on him, costing the Yankees many prospects, players, and games.
Josh Donaldson is the perfect example of the Yankees' constant failure. After getting traded to the Yankees, Donaldson started off promising but then started to receive lots of hate from fans, partly because of his toxic side but mostly because he was slumping badly.
Many, like Aaron Boone, said that Josh Donaldson would bounce back, but in the 2023 season, they failed to give him adequate playing time in addition to injuries, so his production got worse, leading to tons of hate against Josh Donaldson.
Josh Donaldson's Post Brian Cashman Success
The Yankees decided on Aug 29th it was best if they parted ways with Donaldson, which is a move they are starting to deeply regret as he's starting to return to elite form with the Milwaukee Brewers after signing a minor league contract with them. In a recent game versus the St. Louis Cardinals, Josh Donaldson was batting fifth in the lineup and hit a three-run home run to break open the game 3-0 in the first inning, which put his OPS+ over 100 with the Brewers, which he never had with the Yankees in his tenure.
Other Trades That Failed, Showing How Cursed Brian Cashman Is
On July 29th, 2021, the New York Yankees traded for Joey Gallo and Joely Rodríguez for Trevor Hauver, Ezequiel Duran, Glenn Otto, and Josh Smith. This trade wasn't just a failure for the Yankees but it also has left a permanent scar on the career of Joey Gallo, who at that point was a two-time All-Star and a two-time Gold Glove award winner.
On July 31st, 2017, the New York Yankees traded for Sonny Gray for Dustin Fowler, James Kaprielian, and Jorge Mateo. Prior to this point, he was an All-Star pitcher who finished third in Cy-Young voting and was set to become a possible ace of the Team, but the Yankees traded for him from the Athletics, which was a huge failure, as his ERA soared from 3.43 with the Athletics that season.
With the New York Yankees, Gray pitched in 41 games and held an ERA of 4.51, while also having a record of 15-16. As soon as he left, he turned his career around with the Cincinnati Reds. With the Reds in 2019, he became an All-Star again in 31 games with an ERA of 2.87 and a record of 11-8.
These are some of many trades that show the Yankees' complete failure under Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone. The best thing the Yankees can do is completely clean house, but it doesn't look like that'll happen anytime soon.