Yankees will not renew Minaya and Sabean contracts, Heyman reports

Two advisers reportedly departing

The Yankees will not renew the contracts of Omar Minaya and Brian Sabean, Jon Heyman reported Saturday, citing sources. The two former general managers served as advisers to Brian Cashman. Heyman's report did not give a reason for the decisions or identify replacements.

SNY's John Flanigan also reported the nonrenewals, attributing the information to Heyman. The departures remain reported news; no Yankees announcement confirming them was available in the sources reviewed for this article.

The Yankees appointed Sabean on January 3, 2023 as executive adviser to the general manager. Minaya's appointment as senior adviser to baseball operations followed on January 5. Their responsibilities sat within Cashman's baseball operation.

Minaya previously ran the Mets. Sabean's career included an earlier Yankees scouting role and a long tenure leading the Giants. Cashman said on October 21 that he had agreed in principle to return as Yankees general manager.

The next appointments will matter

Our view: the most revealing next step will be how the Yankees assign the evaluation work around Cashman. Advisers can test a proposed acquisition, offer another assessment of a player or challenge the assumptions behind a roster plan. Their influence depends on which responsibilities they receive and how their recommendations enter the final decision.

Replacing experienced advisers can be a reasonable attempt to bring in different judgments. The case for that change will become clearer when the club explains the roles or names successors. The reported nonrenewals alone do not identify which recommendations Minaya or Sabean made, which were accepted, or who was responsible for a particular roster decision.