Rosenthal: Think the Yankees are shifting away from analytics with new hires? Brian Cashman says otherwise - The Athletic

A lot of people are still stuck in the past’s false dichotomy between scouting and analytics. The best teams want the best analytics AND the best scouting. Great player evaluation is the foundation of success in MLB.

He does not buy the perception they are too analytically based.

“I know we’re not,” Cashman said. “I know that analytics are serving us well, just like our pro scouting serves us well, our international scouting serves us well, our international amateur, our domestic amateur. It’s one of many departments. But one that gets way too much scrutiny.

“… Ultimately, if you look at our cabinet, it’s a very diverse cabinet. I’ve always preached that I want to hire people and surround myself with people that are gifted and experts in very specific areas. That probably has more to do with my staying power in this industry than anything else. I’ve hired really well, surrounded myself with people I consider smarter than me with expertise in various aspects of our industry that we can benefit from.

“All I care about is making sure that when we go through our decision-making process, we have every tool in the toolbox. That’s the (phrase) I use all the time. That the information is there for us to digest and ultimately make a decision on. That comes from the scouting arena. That comes from the analytical arena. That comes from the technology and performance side, from the mental-skills side. We combine all that stuff.”