A strengthened Yankees bullpen has not led to a fractured front office, according to a senior team executive.
Responding to reports of a rift between general manager Brian Cashman and ownership, the executive said even though Cashman was against signing reliever Rafael Soriano, the general manager still has the complete trust of owners Hal and Hank Steinbrenner.
“He has not lost one iota of control over baseball operations,” the exec said. “He has not lost one shred of credibility in the eyes of ownership.”
Cashman did not want to sign Soriano, but was overruled by the Steinbrenners. The team and the pitcher agreed to a three-year, $35 million deal Thursday, pending a physical.
According to the source, ownership was worried about the bullpen’s depth should Mariano Rivera suffer an injury. Cashman felt Joba Chamberlain or David Robertson could fill the closer’s role if needed. But the Steinbrenners, along with team president Randy Levine, wanted Soriano.
“He stated his case,” the source said of Cashman. “But he understood. It’s not like he threw a body block to stop it.”
This is an isolated case, the source said, and in no way reflects a lack of confidence in Cashman or his plans for the 2011 team.
“Reasonable people can disagree,” the executive said. “There is no rift.”
The disagreement looks worse because of Cashman’s public stance that the team would not surrender its first-round pick for anyone other than ace Cliff Lee, who spurned the Yankees to sign with the Phillies.
Cashman was adamant as late as last week about keeping the pick, which the Yankees will now surrender to the Rays as compensation for Soriano, a Type-A free agent.
On Jan. 7, Cashman told The Post: “The way you build an organization is through the draft, and our assessment was that Cliff Lee was the only player we were willing to give a No. 1 for. It’s a year-by-year assessment, and I’m going to hold on to that pick.”
According to the source, that was said when Soriano’s agent, Scott Boras, was asking for a four-year, $56 million contract, something the Yankees were unwilling to give. When the asking price came down, the Yankees felt Soriano was too good to pass up.
The Yankees had a major divide in the organization in the early 2000s. It was bad enough for Cashman to plead with George Steinbrenner after the 2005 season for complete autonomy over baseball decisions, something he was given.
The Yankees executive said nothing has changed, but the Steinbrenners ultimately sign off on all decisions. In this regard, the Yankees are like every other team and every other business. There are levels of management, but the owners make the final call.