Newsday: Davidoff - Cashman still believes in Yankees’ youth movement

Cashman fell on his sword Thursday, taking the blame for the disappointing campaign while absolving Joe Girardi and his coaches of any significant wrongdoing… If the impending free-agent executive returns—and that’s the safe bet, given that the Yankees have largely let him run the baseball operations, just as George Steinbrenner promised three years ago—he’ll stick to what he’s been doing.
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I asked Cashman if throwing a nine-figure contract at a veteran free agent from another team—one who hasn’t been exposed to the New York market—would clash with his philosophy.

“No, not necessarily,” he said. “Ultimately, what I feel is a strong reluctance to trade three or four assets to another team (for a player) and then sign him to a multiyear contract. You trade for a guy, give up three or four assets (and then pay him), then you’ve crushed your payroll and your assets at the same time.”

That’s why he didn’t trade for Santana.

“If you choose to play in that marketplace, the one thing you’d be sacrificing is a draft pick,” Cashman continued. “We’re very protective of our draft picks, but for the right player and the right circumstance ... I’ve always said we’re still big-game hunters.”