NEW YORK — In more than two decades as the Yankees’ general manager, Brian Cashman has never fired a coach during a season, believing all performances should be evaluated on a sample of 162 games. This time, he’s seen enough.
With the Yankees still ranking near the bottom of the league in several offensive categories, head coach Dillon Lawson has been relieved of his duties following Sunday’s 7-4 loss to the Cubs at Yankee Stadium.
“I grew up in an organization that was constantly making season changes. It’s not something I’ve been drawn to in my tenure as general manager,” Cashman said. “But at the same time, when you feel like you have to do it, you do it and face it, with all your might. word meaning.”
Cashman said Lawson’s replacement will come from outside the organization, and that assistant hitting coaches Casey Dykes and Brad Wilkerson will remain on the staff in their current roles.
The head hitting coach position has not yet been offered to anyone, according to Cashman, who said he has been compiling an internal slate of candidates. Cashman plans to announce the rental before the Yankees open the second half of the regular season on Friday in Colorado.
“There is an opportunity here,” Cashman said. “I think we have more than two players who are able to find higher ground than we found in the first half. I’m looking for a unique personality that will blend in and connect with that group of players, as well as some players who are currently on the injured list.”
Cashman, who is in Tampa, Florida, to oversee the MLB draft, said he spoke with general partner-manager Hal Steinbrenner on the phone Saturday. During that conversation, Cashman suggested a change, and Steinbrenner gave his blessing.
The schedule suggests that the Yankees’ 3-0 loss to the Cubs on Friday night may have been the last straw. New York was hit one over eight innings that night by right-hander Jameson Taylone, who entered play with a 6.93 ERA, the highest in the Majors among pitchers with 60 or more innings pitched this year.
Scoring was a season-long problem for the Yankees, who reached the All-Star break with a record of 49-42, good for fourth in the American League East, eight games behind the leading Rays. Overall, the Yankees rank near the bottom of the league in batting average (. 231 – tied for 28th), hits (690 – 29) and on-base percentage (. 300 – 26).
“Since I’ve been here, we’ve had consistently high levels of offensive production,” said Cashman. “This year was a completely different story. In the end, the end results are not the Yankees acid we are used to seeing.”
Their numbers have taken an even bigger hit since the loss of Aaron Judge to a sprained right big toe. They are 14-17 since Judge hit the right field wall at Dodger Stadium on June 3, and had the lowest batting average (. 218), lowest on-base percentage (. 288) and third-fewest (117) in a home run over that span.
“I wanted to give things a chance to work out, but I feel, frankly, at this point, it’s not going to get any better — at least the way it is,” said Cashman. “It’s not to say the offense couldn’t have naturally improved, but I feel we’d be better served with a new messenger.”
Lawson, 38, has been the fifth Yankees head coach in the past 10 years, following stints by Kevin Long (2007-14), Jeff Pentland (2015), Alan Cockerell (2016-17), and Marcus Thames (2018-21). .
He spent his first three seasons in the organization (2019-21) as the Yankees’ minor league hitting coordinator, where he popularized the “hit hard” slogan. Prior to joining the Yankees, Lawson spent two seasons with the Astros organization, serving as the hitting coach for Single-A Quad Cities in 2018 and the short-season Single-A Tri-City in 2016.
“I don’t think Dillon can’t be a major league coach with consistent success,” said Cashman. “I think that’s part of the growing process and learning curve. We’re still thinking about his world and knowing what his capabilities are, but I think just in this time and place, it’s best for us to move forward with change.”