 Yeah, obviously our season is concluded and I want to first and foremost thank all of our players, our staff, our ownership, our front office, you know, for the commitment that they provided to try to figure out a way to navigate this COVID environment, you know, and deal with a, you know, a lot of unique circumstances, you know, clearly in many cases whether it's staff or players especially, or some of the support travel party, you know, that meant, you know, being disconnected from families in most cases. And, you know, so that was obviously a very unique circumstance which took a lot of sacrifice and commitment. And so I also want to really give a major shout out to Zach Britton who obviously had the higher level of responsibilities to act as our player rep and to go between, between our, you know, ownership and front office on behalf of his union and his teammates and, and at times that obviously, you know, was really a difficult position I'm sure to be in. And so again, I just want to thank all parties involved for trying to find a way to, to make a very unique circumstance work. And I fall back to have always been in a position of appreciation that we were in the position to have work, you know, during obviously a pandemic that is, you know, wreaked havoc all across the world and when many people couldn't. So I just wanted to start this off by not forgetting the level of commitment all those parties had in this process. And with that, certainly open up to questions and Jason, take it away. Okay. Thanks, Cash. We can start with Meredith, please unmute. Hey, Brian, Aaron just made the comment that he thinks it's important for people to realize how close the team is to winning a World Series with the amount of talent you had on the roster. Why do you think you weren't able to achieve that goal? Well, I mean, ultimately, we ran up against the team that was better. Tampa Bay proved out during the regular season that they, they were in the right to be American League Eastern Division champions. We had a chance to change that narrative potentially in the short season postseason appearance and it didn't work out that way either. So they proved in the marathon of 60 games that they were better. And then they proved in the sprint of the Division series that they were better. So I think we had a championship caliber team. But that's, that's the level of, I guess, praise I can put on it for us all is that we obviously earned a postseason right and got past Cleveland and ran into a five game set that took us out. And I just feel like in the end that, you know, when the dust settles there, a better franchise right now than we are. A lot has been made about that game two decision to essentially use Davey as an opener followed by Jay Hap. How much input did you have into that decision? And did you ultimately agree with the way Aaron Boone decided to go there? Yeah, no, I agree with the, I thought it was again, we instituted our process that we've had in place now for feels like well over a decade where everybody's going to have their say and suggestions for the manager to filter and, and that's our process. And then ultimately, you know, we try to find a way or suggested ways of, hey, you can climb this mountain this way, you can climb this mountain that way, you know, or you can go basically what all the roots to try to get to the top of the mountain, which would be to victory. And then in the end, you know, Aaron will decide with his staff what route he's most comfortable taking and what makes the most sense for him. And, and that's the way it's always been. And so certainly involved making sure my job as general manager and director of baseball ops essentially would be to make sure that we stay true to having a strong process and make sure that all lines of information that is real and accurate flows. And then obviously being in a position to have a strong process that if there's some fool's gold that gets thrown one way or the other that that actually can, you know, be revealed over the course of time too. So it puts the manager in the best position possible to plot a course, whether it's lineup related, whether it's how he'll use his bullpen, how he'll line up his starters. But, but I know there's that narrative it's been asked several times about, you know, the manager being a puppet and all that, none of that's true. I've never ordered a manager to do anything specifically. And, you know, Aaron would be able to testify to that as well. Joe Girardi and Joe Tory, they've never been directed at any time by me or our front office to do something that they didn't want to do. And simple as that. But I know I've said that before and, you know, people want to believe whatever they want to believe. So I just know we have a good, strong healthy sound process and one that we're proud of. Take another from Bruce Beck. Cash, how do you get over the hump from being close to winning it all since the Yankees always talk about the championship versus just making the playoffs that's always been your mantra, so to speak? Well, to be a true champion, you got to play, you know, your best baseball on accounts in October first, you got to earn the right to get there, which obviously we've been able to do for quite some time. And then navigate October against some really amazing opponents. And that means bringing your best, your A game at all times. And we clearly were able to do that to some degree in the Cleveland series. And I think if you evaluate the performance levels, whether it's our hitters or various pitchers in the division series against Tampa Bay, that didn't happen. And that's obviously a big reason why we're home. And, you know, so essentially try to put yourself in the position to compete in October and then take your shot. And it's a prize fight, to be quite honest, every series is a prize fight that you happen to advance to. And the truth of the matter is, you know, you're going to have someone who's going to be standing at the end of that fight. We went five games with the Tampa Bay Rays. And, you know, the loser gets knocked out. And, you know, all the blood and the and, you know, that comes with that knockout comes our way, which is also criticism for not being good enough. And so, you know, I know that comes with the territory of playing meaningful games in October, our fans, our ownership, our front office, our players, our staff, we all care about the end result. That's why we're in this arena competing for it. And so now, obviously, when you lose, you get dissected. And, you know, that's also part of this process. And I get that I've been around long enough to deal with it and understand it. And, and, you know, it's as simple as that. So ultimately, we'll do what we always try to do, which is evaluate all aspects of this roster, what's coming, what's available in play, what the financial circumstances exist in real time at that time. And, you know, those conversations will begin obviously a little sooner than we wanted, engage ownership about the realities of today and come up with, you know, the best game plan possible to move forward with, with hopefully the best talented roster we can put forth and get back at it again for next year. Yeah. Take another from Pete Caldera. Brian, how do you evaluate your catching situation right now? And would you even envision a competition between Higashioca and Sanchez if those are your two primary catchers going into spring training next year? Well, I think it's certainly a fair question. Obviously, the way Gary Sanchez's season, you know, transpired and then the way it ended with Higashioca actually starting, you know, in the postseason as many games as he did. I think it's one of the discussion points we're going to have to focus on. You know, obviously this COVID season was unique. You saw a lot of unexpected performances throughout both leagues from players that, you know, obviously are capable of more. We have to determine whether this was a byproduct of unique circumstances or more reflection of what is, you know, to be expected as we move forward. So we have to have those legitimate discussions that haven't happened yet. I know Gary Sanchez is an extremely talented player. You know, I know in the offensive side there was, you know, you know, I guess I would describe it as, you know, I think he swung the bat better than those numbers look, you know, and on the defensive side, I know he was fully committed to Tanner Swanson and adjusting to Tanner Swanson's mechanical adjustments that would improve his receiving skills, which I think did happen. But ultimately the end result was the performance wasn't Gary Sanchez's caliber and that obviously allowed Higashioca to come in and do what he did and kind of take control towards the end. So we'll evaluate, you know, those, you know, that particular position because we'll be forced to now as we move forward. And so that'll be for another day. And I'm not here to tell you, you know, I haven't even talked to Aaron Boone what his thoughts are yet. We haven't had any meetings with our pro scouting department yet. We'll start to schedule them maybe as early as next week. I don't know. But ultimately that will be a subject that we have to discuss as well. And it could very well be a change. It could very well be a competition could very well be other. I don't know because we haven't had those conversations. But I know Gary's, you know, capable of a lot. There's no question in my mind about that. But I'm sure he's as disappointed in this season as anybody. But I know he cares and he's committed and his career will continue. No question about it. And better days would be ahead for him. I truly believe that. Marley Rivera, you have the next question. Hi, Cash. When you have the highest payroll in baseball, being eliminated in the postseason by a team with one of the lowest, how do you explain that to fans who are obviously angry out there? I don't think it's a payroll comparison in any way, shape or form. So again, if you strategically follow how the rays have built their franchise, it's not something that just occurred with our payroll versus their payroll in the last year. You know, I think first, if I don't think I did, so I want to congratulate the Tampa Bay Rays and Eric Neander and Kevin Cash for obviously what they've accomplished thus far and hopefully for what they're about to accomplish as they move forward and try to do something that we were not capable of in 2020. But falling back, they've got to this level not by, you know, some short term decision making process. It's been building over the course of time, obviously having early on when they weren't as good and their record wasn't as great, you know, cashing in on a lot of draft picks and international money and spending it wisely and developing it properly and then making really astute trades like the one they did with Pittsburgh to add to their talent level. And so this is no surprise that Tampa Bay is formable. This is no surprise that Tampa Bay is in the position to compete for a world championship title. This hasn't snuck up on anybody that's been paying attention throughout, you know, the industry. You know, I know last year there was a lot of narrative about Yankees versus Red Sox who's going to win the East and I know privately amongst others, maybe publicly, I can remember now, telling whether it was our ownership or everybody else, hey, the raise, no one's mentioning the raise, no one's, this team is coming and now they're here. And so, and you see that, that's part of the process. So it's not, it's not in its simple form, their payroll versus our payroll. I think ultimately they're forced to operate a certain way based on the market they're in and we're permitted to operate a different way because of the market we happen to be in and both ways can have success in both ways. Obviously, you know, we've seen success and that will continue as we move forward. So I think that's a more simplistic form of, you know, if you look at a long-term process that transpired over the course of time in Tampa Bay, they were very committed to it and they're now paying, now they're receiving the dividends of their patience, hard work, commitment to their process and that's happened over the course of time, not in the last year, not in the last two years, but in the last, you know, five years I'd say or six years that's, you know, coming to fruition and so it's something to be very proud of if you're a raise fans and if you're Eric Neander and their ownership group and Kevin Cash and their players. And so, you know, let's see what happens the rest of the postseason for them and, you know, when you get knocked out, you'd like to be knocked out by the ultimate world champion, you know, and so I'm hoping that Tampa can go on and do right by that fan base and finish the job but obviously they have more work to do in the ALCS first. I apologize, just a quick follow-up. So is it more difficult than like just entirely, I understand your explanation and obviously it's true but is it more difficult when your executive team approved by ownership, you know, you spend so much money the last couple of years and this is the team that beats you. No. No, I don't have any, my head's not going to lay low if you get beat by a team that's that's worthy and Tampa Bay was worthy. They had, they have a tremendous starting rotation, they have a tremendous bullpen, they have a Swiss Army knife offense that they designed in a way that they can match up with anybody and so their, you know, defense is really good. So they're really, you know, and not just them, there was a number of teams in this postseason you would look at and you'd say you have a lot of respect from afar for how they go about their business and what they do and so do I want us to be the best version of ourselves? The answer is yes. Am I proud of being in a position to compete for a championship? The answer is yes. Am I massively disappointed and sorry that we're unable to finish the job? The answer is yes but I respect, you know, a great baseball team and they're proving to be a great baseball team and so I think you could be both disappointed and devastated as we are but at the same time tip your cap to the opponent who did that to you at the same time. I feel like we had players who cared and that were committed that did some amazing things and have a lot of talent and they went up against a team that was extremely talented and we went five games and a very tight contest late in game five. Again, that's when the knockout blow hit and took us down but we had our opportunities with some really amazing players that we're proud to have and been called Yankees and we'll see where the future takes us and again we're back to the drawing board but, you know, I don't think it's as simple as, you know, I don't think it's just as simple as trying to explain away why our payroll is where it is and why their payroll is where that is. It's just when you're competing on the field, regular season and postseason and season, your payroll is not going to win it for you. You're the talent you have in front of you at the time and how they happen to perform on any given day is what's going to be the difference maker. Yeah, they're still players, they're still human beings. Sweeney Murdy, you have the next question. Right, along those lines, payroll, regardless of payroll, the Ray seemed to have a roster that has a lot of flexibility and versatility built into it and you have a roster that at times feels logged in in certain spots. Do you feel like you need a little bit more of that versatility whether it's players who play multiple places, the more of a left-right balance or do you think putting out a roster similar to what you've done the last couple of years and just hoping for a different result is more of what you're after? Well, I think we obviously want to be the best we can possibly be, but that's based on what we already have at the same time. So, you know, so whether you signed to DJ LaMahew to be that versatile, everyday guy that can play for a second and third would be a manifestation of a choice we actually made, you know, what two years ago, you know, to try to buy some flexibility and versatility. But every decision you have is, you know, so I know in a earlier conversation with our manager, the question was posed about, are we too right-handed? Of course, you'd like to have the balance if you can, but then when you're faced with a decision of, do I remove, you know, do I do I not try to resign DJ LaMahew because he's right-handed so I can get a left-handed bat in there? It's okay to have those conversations, you know, if you so choose or do like last year, do I trade Luke Voight because he's right-handed to try to get a left-handed hitting first baseman in there? Again, you know, those are conversations that are fair game to always have and decipher, but again, to pull the trigger on making decisions like that, you know, you have to come up with A, the ability to secure the alternative and then B, feel like you're actually better. This is going to make us better because we have a very talented player or players that you're trying to reconfigure. So those steps you've got to take very lightly and because ultimately you're subtracting from one area which is a strength and trying to improve an area some other way by gaining the balance. And so I don't know if those choices really manifest itself as easily as maybe people would think that it's not just automatically a wave of magic wand and that'll disappear and this will reappear. You know, you engage all markets available and evaluate what you currently have, which we actually believe is really good. And so when we make tough decisions, which we've done before, you know, we've, you know, clearly have fallen back to what we've currently got because we believe that's better than the alternative of what we could have done differently. But in its own vacuum, would you like more balance? Of course, you'd like more balance. Would you like more, you know, of any aspect of it that can improve your roster? The answer is yes. Would all active state healthy, you know, were savvy or or Hermann wasn't suspended for two post seasons or Paxton didn't have a setback towards September to push them into the World Series if we got there? The answer is yes to all those things, but it's just not how the mechanics actually work as easily as that. I guess would you would you have to maybe seek that type of balance out more when it clearly works over the course of 162, but hasn't seemed to work for you over the course of short series instead, but I'm not sure in terms of seeking the balance, how and when, you know, the balance, you know, so, so if you're in the draft, if we're predominantly right handed, do you avoid drafting Aaron judge because he's right handed? The answer is no, you draft the best talent, and they let it develop. And then when your talent's developing over the course of time, we happen to be very right handed right now because of the amount of talent, you know, we navigated or gravitated till the Mayhew and his free agency despite being right handed it because we're so right handed, we didn't shy away from it. We actually decided still to go all in because it still checked them so many boxes. So again, I think in a vacuum, yes, you'd like to get as much balance as you can, but in terms of where your system is, how you're international talent from the draft and international signings develop over the course of time, what trades you actually make that you believe you're getting better at by making by securing more talent. If it happens to be predominantly more right handed and the left handed choices don't really manifest itself, then you go with what you've got and you embrace it. And again, you try to be better in other areas too. And because ultimately your offense, your defense, your starting rotation in your bullpen collectively is going to have to get the job done one way or the other. And sometimes threading that needle of getting a specific area balanced out or it's not as easy said than done. And please don't take these as excuses. I'm just trying to explain the landscape that you walk through every time. So ultimately we have a championship contending roster. I believe that is a fact. We're not going to be able to call ourselves champions. That is also a fact. And so we'll continue to find a way to improve upon the roster and on every year that opportunities change based on budgets, opportunities change based on the free agent choices, based on your free agent losses, based on the trade opportunities that exists and how your system is developing and where it sits at the timeframe too. And so we'll be obviously going through all that again. Dan Martin, please unmute. Brian, do you anticipate making any moves on the coaching staff and do you foresee flavor as your shortstop moving forward or is that a conversation that you might need to have about perhaps moving him back to second base? In terms of our coaching staff, I don't anticipate any changes in our coaching staff, although I haven't had any conversations with ownership on any of that. I think ultimately Hal Steinbrenner deserves to have what he always demands, which is a sit down with myself and any of other parties that he wants to discuss and dissect the 2020 season. And then obviously at the same time we'll map out how we handle navigating the 2021 program. So from my perspective to answer your question, honestly, I don't anticipate any changes and if changes do come, I would think it would be something that would come from some other influence, which I don't anticipate, but I also can't ignore either because in fairness I haven't had conversations with Hal Steinbrenner about things of that specificity. In terms of labor, is our shortstop moving forward or not? We're going to evaluate all circumstances that best fit us. He's currently our shortstop. The answer to that question is yes. I think he's capable of better defense in this young early year of his career, not year, but of his career. And we will, again, game plan, discuss with all parties involved. And if we feel something is a better way to go, then obviously we'll discuss that. But as of right now, whatever we currently have that we're controlled is what is our best option. And if suggestions come our way from pro scouting or analytics or development or our field manager and immediate coaching staff, then we'll evaluate those as the process would warrant. Thank you. Brian Hope, go ahead. You have the next question. Hey, Cash. Hal was on the radio yesterday. He said that you guys have lost more money than any other team this year because of the COVID and not having fans. So where does that put you as you approach free agency guys like LaMahue, Tanaka? What situation are you in? Well, obviously I think this global pandemic has affected everybody in a horrific way in a business setting. So clearly he's just shining a light on the reality that I don't think would be a surprise to anybody or shouldn't be. But again, I haven't had conversations directly with Hal Steimer about how it affects our decision making moving forward. But clearly these are real constraints that exist throughout all industries and households alone. And so something that clearly will factor into how we approach the future. And then Boone said that LaMahue is at Yankee Stadium today. Did you cross pass with him at all? Did you have any conversation about what's ahead? I did not. I've been in the clubhouse, but I did not see DJ LaMahue. So he might have, again, we have a big footprint underneath there. So I was in our coaching area, our training room and Aaron Boone's office, but I did not go into the players area. Okay, thank you. Take another from Brendan Cutty. Can you go into next year expecting or hoping that John Carlos Tan can play any outfield for you guys? Or do you see him as a DH option only going forward? Given the injuries that we've experienced with him thus far, I think the safe bet would be to focus with him at the DH level. I don't think he's not capable of playing the outfield. He's very athletic and can clearly handle that position. The workload and maintaining his lower body injuries obviously would be something that would be at risk. So I would think that our best strategy would be to deploy him on an everyday basis at the DH role like we've been doing. Notwithstanding though, I know that the new protocols with the Eric Cressy team that he's gravitated to and feels very good about from his position moving forward might hopefully help him maintain a better health standard, but given what we've lived through thus far, I think our intent is to try to keep him as healthy as much as we possibly can because just as postseason loan you saw what he is capable of doing, he always seems to hit when he's healthy and he hits all types of pitching and so he's a formidable offensive weapon that we'd love to keep active throughout and so the DH role is probably best suited for that. Yesterday Hal said he'd have to talk with his family about whether to bring back Domingo Hermann, about whether they're okay with or if Domingo has shown that he's progressed past whatever happened. Are you expecting Domingo back with the team next year? Well, I think probably what Hal's also talking to is the fact that because he was suspended especially on top of the COVID pandemic, I know he made several requests to work out whether it was in the Dominican, whether it was in Tampa and we weren't permitted by the suspension rules and the COVID rules to allow, unless you're rehabbing an injured player, which he wasn't injured, so we have not had our hands on him by a number of different restrictions. So we haven't had access to this player and so clearly this winner now that he's off the suspension and when things can ease up we're obviously looking forward to re-engaging Domingo Hermann and getting a sense of where he's at both in a personal as well as professional blight and so we certainly hope all is well with him and his family but that is an evolving situation which sounds like that's what Hal was speaking to yesterday. Thank you. James Wagner, please unmute. Hey guys, just going back to something that Brian asked you about the finances of this year, I mean obviously you spend like a record contract on you know Garrett Cole last off season, would it be unrealistic just even looking now for you to behave again that way given you know the the financial situation of your team and then also broadly in baseball too, like what would you even think the market like would look like given that money was such a real concern for you and everyone across the sport this year? Well I'm sure by rule I'm prohibited from speculating, talking to whatever our financial you know issues are aren't I think there's an acknowledgement that clearly like every business entity around the land you know things are not the same. How we choose to navigate the immediate present and therefore the future remains to be seen and I don't think I'm permitted to telegraph what what that happens to be and certainly don't I'm not even a position to do so because I haven't had those heavy lifting conversations with the most important person in that process which is our owner Hal Steinbrenner and his family so you know I guess it's a to be continued I'd like to you know I know we have a lot of talent currently existing on this roster already that we control as we move forward and I also know that we have some players on the injured list that we look forward to getting back and you know that we were obviously not able to access here in the 2020 season but you know obviously we certainly are dreaming on re-accessing those talents as we move forward in 2021 because I think they can play a really big role for us so what more on top of that we will do can do I think there's a lot of discussions that have to be had to hear between now and you know the conclusion of the winter program so we'll see how it is we'll see what's available via the trademark it will see what we might be willing to trade and we'll see what the flexibility our payroll will provide or won't provide but I I'd like to think that regardless of all that being said just now I won't be telegraphing what it is because I think by rule I might allowed to and it's probably just not in our interest to do so either way. Lindsay Adler please unmute. Hey Cash Aaron Boone came into this organization as one of the most well-known kind of baseball lifers I'm curious after three years with him at the helm what do you feel that your organization has learned from him and his experience and perspective? Well I think he's honored you know who he is every step of the way I think he's a real approachable person that connects well with his players connects well with his co-workers whether it's his you know coaching staff his support staff his front office you know our fans I think he what I've learned from him is he's a very patient a very approachable very open-minded individual extremely intelligent that that is willing to put the work in to try to decipher the right next move and the best position to be sitting in and and then live with the results you know for better or for worse so you know all I continue to see from Aaron Boone the person is everything that I thought I felt from that interview process as well as our entire team was he's you know made that real he's you know he's exactly who he is with you in the media he is with us and that's a that's a tremendous skill to be the same person to all parties involved whether it's the media covering the game whether it's our fans whether it's our players whether it's the support staff whether it's a pitching coach hitting coach posing team you know ownership from office he he just happens to be you know really cool common collected but obviously you see him snap dragging every now and then when when he disagreed with a call on the field but but otherwise very patient hand with a growth mentality and an open-mindedness which something I really do appreciate and we've asked a lot about the you know the relationship between the analytics in the front office and the coaching staff I'm curious how often have you seen Aaron push back you know on some decisions that maybe you guys might have brought to him that maybe his coaching staff might have brought to him and what does it look like when he does that does he push back the answers yes does he see does just like again I use my I've been around a long time now whether it's a Joe Tory whether it's a Joe Girardi or an Aaron Boone not every manager has agreed with suggestions made and but yet every manager was allowed to plot their own course even with a disagreement so I think there is a healthy debate that transpires and then a and an all-in commitment once that decision is ultimately made and in in terms of the lineup card and the in-game strategies those are the managers and so always has been and as long as I'm the general manager it never will be different and so what's it look like it's a healthy discord where you know ultimately the process is going to play out in a way that he's going to have his reasonings he's going to share them and then it's my responsibility to accept those and appreciate the fact that he did the dissection he took the time and the case the patients in the care to really evaluate all aspects of it and then and then we commit you know is what he wants to do even though it might be something that I thought we should go a different way so be it he's got my support and he knows I have you know his support but you know in full transparency you know again I reiterate that in the end of the day the manager's job is to to play the players he thinks are the best serve to help him win that game and deploy the strategies that he thinks with his staff is going to help him the best I would describe our coaching staff is is an eclectic crew of old school and new school who he turns to for guidance every step of the way and you know I am a little surprised to be quite honest about the the constant current dialogue about the analytics involvement as you see a number of really successful operations currently playing out in post-season and they're used to being there on a year and a year out basis on a consistent level that deploy the exact same methodology that we do but yet we're not I guess we're being questioned on we're doing it but it's okay for them to do it it's just a weapon to deploy to make sure that you're maximizing all advantages and that's all we've done and I'm not ashamed of it I'm proud of the fact that we're using every tool in the toolbox it's made us better it's allowed us to be a consistent contender but I at the same time I do accept the criticism criticisms that come when you lose because then that invites where could you have done something different where can you be better where did you go wrong and objectively we have to currently we always have to evaluate that aspect of it too and accept the fact that all right um is there any areas that we need to improve upon and and we'll clearly do that regardless but I do consider our process really strong very healthy uh collaborative in terms of making sure all the information gets flown in uh and provided and then ultimately puts our manager and our pitching coach or hitting coach and the rest of the staff in a position to make very difficult decisions to pick and choose based on the the players and the personnel and and their mentalities of what's the best uh decision to go with and uh and then live with those results christie acker please unmute hi brian um erin said that he didn't know of any um players that might need off season uh surgery or anything I just wanted to check with you to see if there was any update on luke voight and I think geo or shellis said there's a possibility of having to have his elbow cleaned out um in luke voight's case he saw dr christopher amad and then he had a follow-up with dr omali from hss both doctors evaluated uh his foot which was plantar fasciitis the same way uh and uh a prp injection was uh directed and has happened on he'll be in a cam walker boot for a week and they expect and hope that that will resolve the issue um and so uh uh you know there was some medical intervention obviously with the injection of the prp but nothing more is expected than that at this time uh and both doctors felt that this was there out to go and and it should suffice uh in terms of geo or shella he was evaluated by dr christopher amad finishes he's nasymptomatic uh and no surgery has been recommended at the stage and uh no follow-up second opinions have been recommended either so he's going to return home to columbia and uh and you know we look forward to seeing him in spring training if something changes on that i'll let you know but that's the current uh landscape there's no other pending surgeries or or uh surgical in interventions that are anticipated are expected unless we have some sort of new complaints that arise that sometimes happen over the course of winter training and luke uh severino is expected back for spring training next year no his uh his yeah he had tommy john obviously towards the end of spring training normally those are longer than 12 months so uh so i would i don't know what the proper date would be but is it june uh i think throwing dates out like over a month's out like probably june is a safe safe way to go maybe it's july if it's sooner so be it but his tommy john is uh rehab is going well i think he's three weeks into his it might be 90 feet flat ground right now um it's going as well as could be expected at this early juncture but obviously he's got a lot of road to clear and and then there'll be a shutdown period why uh why he recovers again in this process so all those things are to be determined but but normally it seems like tommy john now is the days are anywhere from 14 to 15 months sometimes and so uh so i gotta give myself and therefore our fans a little bit of uh uh safety rails in terms of expectation of when would be the appropriate time to to expect him to be reintroduced to the major league club that's fair just one final question um player development was you know put on hold this year what are your plans for your minor leaguers so that they don't lose a whole year of development well obviously there's no leagues uh currently winter balls will be existing in in some uh countries and so uh some players will play winter ball um and uh we will do as much remote coaching as we possibly can um despite covid obviously spiking throughout the country it seems like now but we uh um you know we're not gonna have an instructional league uh and our plans are to deploy uh our coaches throughout the country and and stay connected whether it's remote or in person on an individual basis throughout the winter time thank you i'm gonna take a handful more brad for davis please unmute hey brine uh you know there was a situation earlier um this the season where a couple year minor leaguers express like public frustration with the team's apparent silence about uh the situation with jacob lake i'm curious if you have any um you know if you were aware of where that or can share anything that's developed since then i met with those players directly um and uh and i i went over and met with our players uh in at the anky complex at that time it was reported i sat with them with our player development director kevin reese and uh as well as eric schmidt and we had a chance to you know have a uh a conversation about what they were feeling why they were feeling what they were looking for from the anky's and uh i promised them that all that information was going to be shared all the way to the top which it was and incorporated in our statements and our actions moving forward uh and uh i know they appreciated that and um so if that's what you're speaking to that that something turning the clock back uh which has obviously been a very difficult time that which will continue and does continue um you know is what we did in the meantime we've uh you know we've continued to uh to work towards improving you know our present and our future with with uh i think house timer bryan smith is creating a a uh a team of personnel to help guide dissect look inward to find higher ground to make sure that we're handling this in the best way possible not just at the major league level but at the minor league level and all aspects of our department and something that again to make uh i think the intent of ownership always is to make sure that this is a place at all uh people can come and work and be proud to be working for and working at and a place it's a great opportunity for all reasons and so um so if there's parts that that haven't been as good as it can be we're going to do everything in our power to make them better and um so i think we have started a lot of heavy lifting there and an inward reflection uh and that will continue and that that's with the engagement of our major league players our minor league players but not just at our our black employees that that don't happen to put a uniform on and you know it's our support staff and other various departments that are in the business side or uh whether it's tickets or or finance or marketing or what have you and make sure that all the information and input that's necessary for us to react to that we're receiving in real time take another from bob clavish hey bryan just just a quick question i'm just wondering how sick you are of doing this this post mortem conference press conference for the third year in a row and you know emotionally how much does it need at you to come up short well first you know um i'd rather be doing this than not making the playoffs first and foremost i'd rather be in a position we're playing meaningful games in october and i am not going to shy away from how important that is at the very least just because we're here it doesn't guaranteeing anything just because we have the highest payroll it doesn't guarantee us anything but making sure that we're in a position to believe we're capable of winning a championship and even believing that doesn't guarantee it it's just hey you've got to put yourself in a position to to take a shot and then and then live with the live with those results if i you know if i wasn't up for having the this dialogue now with you for instance bob clavish and answering a question like this then then i don't belong in this job you know i don't you know i don't uh i could i should just do something else but i am willing to walk through fire to to to accomplish something great even though only one team every year can do so and uh and so i know that we're proud of the fact that we have a shot uh that we've been in position to take a shot uh we've had opportunities that that if we took advantage of and you know maybe in the game played out a different way whether whether it's running in scoring positions or getting that final out in a crucial time or uh or making the great defensive play which has also happened against us i mean i like you sit and you sit in the a wrestle and you toss and turn about and remember plays that the opposing teams made that like wow that's a hit right off the bat and all of a sudden it was a great diving play by the third baseman that converted the out that prevented the inning from going uh which would have extended things for us and changed maybe the ultimate outcome you'd play all those different games but ultimately we are have been in the arena uh to compete with some obviously extremely talented teams on the other end and some of them we've navigated past and other runs we haven't and uh that's just the way the the october postseason works i know that erin boone used the word cruel it's a cruel ending for those who don't you know obviously get there uh all the way to the final uh podium uh to be that last team standing but uh but i'm proud to be in the arena fighting to be that last team standing and and you know now the job is to get back there again next year and take another shot and we're listening i mean i'm seeing the Dodgers right now they got eight straight division titles in the national league west they're considered the the you know one of the prime you know examples of a greatly run franchise a terrifically run franchise i have tremendous players talent um you know a strong process and but doesn't guarantee the outcome you know it doesn't guarantee uh any end result it just you know they they're taking their shot uh and you know and other teams as well so i'm proud to be in this arena uh i hope to be in a position to ultimately say you know we are world champions again sooner than later but my words won't make that happen you know ultimately the collective efforts of all parties involved from from top to bottom including through our players that's going to be the end result and uh and you know so you know we'll just keep fighting and that's all i can tell you i mean the commitment of trying to be a champion is always going to be there and we'll continue to try and and uh and i'm proud of that championship caliber intent and interest and effort and um but i can't guarantee an outcome you know uh and you know so at the end of the day you know uh we'll keep working at it i promise you uh that's our commitment to our fans am i sorry that we lost obviously and didn't provide uh you know new memories of championship glory for our fans as early as 2020 of course i am you know that's something that that uh that we want for our fans more than anything um but uh that quest continues um and that's all i can say thanks for it Joel Sherman you have the next question um cash as the person who's going to have to ultimately make this decision wait after you meet with your people your analytics your scouts you do all that those meetings how do you determine that you've been so close now for straight years that you're still on the right path as opposed to that maybe you do need to do some kind of shuffle uh this off season to change the cards in some way to have a product that you get through well i think every year we shuffle it up every year it's a little different it seems um and again it depends on the personnel you currently have and the commitment levels you got with them as well as the available choices at hand in front of you uh coupled with budget constraints coupled with what's coming through the system so you know i kind of feel like i tried to walk through that earlier you know um you know so there's you know now next year there's the possibility of having a severino return to play there's a possibility of having these are the controllable pieces having you know potentially domingo herman return the possibility of a debbie garcia now who obviously got battle tested as early as 2020 now and him taking the next step and a claire schmidt's coming up through the system and the depth and i say all that with clearly the hopes of maintaining health for not just them but for all other parties involved and that's on top of evaluating you know what's available at hand that's realistic um that means available trade choices and what the swap cost happens to be the available free agent market the available minimally free agent market and and other aspects of our system that might play in play a pop important role and and then really what's next year going to look like either is it going to be a shortened 2021 season is our what's our minor league season is going to look like there's a lot of questions that yet have yet to be answered but uh but i do feel that every year joel the the roster is different just like we have free agency with a lot of quality talent that that is going into free agency um you know do we have the ability to retain all should we retain all um you know how that those questions get answered will will reflect a different roster um more likely to not regardless and so um we're constantly trying to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the roster and and and make sure that we're in a position to feel good to by where we're going with it and meaning as early as opening day of next year and and and maintaining the health of whatever that roster looks like and so um we'll see i mean i it's it's all game plan and strategy do i think there's something fundamentally flawed with this roster i think the roster that competed in post season i think the starting rotation was at risk um and that needs to get you know improved upon and some of the jeopardy and risk that that happened with was because of uh some injuries that happened along the way that you know allowed us to or forced us to to reconfigure and focus a different way but um you know that that's certainly the an obvious area you know so when we'll walk into that as i talked about the Tampa Bay Rays they were they had a nice top three that they threw at that they can throw at anybody right now that are nice and healthy and primed which is you know when you have charlie morton is your third starter that's a pretty impressive lineup right there uh coupled with that great bullpen behind it so with class now and snow it was a really impressive setup that was operating at uh at a high level at the time that uh they entered post season and it's it's you know um it's performing well for them as it should and so you know my job is to try to get us to a point where you know some of the navigations to try and exploit our roster strengths whatever they happen to be uh you know or maybe those decisions could be different if we have some higher caliber talent you know that our manager you know uh can deploy and if not you know then we have to come up with a little bit of a mixing and matching to make it the best version of itself like that game two strategy showed dave lennon go ahead hey cash uh just looking back on the game two uh garcia half decision is there anything that you guys regret uh about that decision making process and just specifically in light of leaning somebody like leaning on somebody like half who afterward didn't sound like he was mentally on board with being used in that role i i'm not sure i'll be honest no i don't think so i mean ultimately you know we we didn't ask davie garcia to do something he wasn't used to he was asked to start right uh and we were not going to have a long rope with him uh obviously at the stage of his career doesn't mean he could not have pitched well but we again trying to exploit the current roster going into that series we felt this was the best strategy we didn't ask j have to do something he wasn't used to doing um and what do i mean by that you know i know he's a starter but he's had 15 career postseason appearances in his entire career you know how many starts he's had in the postseason he's had four so his whole postseason career is coming out of the pen typically he's including last year uh where in game six you know chad green against the alcs uh the knockout game with houston chad green started game six in the first inning for us and then half came in and relieved and pitched three innings of relief of shut out baseball if i remember right and i think it was september 25th of last year against tampa bay as well where we had an opener against tampa bay and then half came in and pitched five innings of one run ball against tampa last year in september and so he was given advance notice of course he would like to have started um it was a number of days that a conversation that i wasn't a part of it was between our manager and our pitching coach and anybody else happened to be in on the field staff i wasn't a part of that jay had a chance to absorb it adjust it he wasn't asked to do something that he wasn't used to doing and he was given an advance notice uh he did tell our manager he was all in he i think he told you on his post game press conference he was all in but when you lose you know obviously then a lot of things happen you get dissected finger points and stuff like that but um i don't all i know is we tried to put jay happen the best position he possibly could be in to find a way to navigate that what i called that swiss army knife lineup so that kevin cash would would take some right handers out of that lineup so when hap came in he had better lanes to try to navigate didn't work you know it didn't work but it's something that we have deployed in the past will continue to deploy and it's not something that we haven't been deploying alone you know it's been happening in this current postseason by other clubs as well and it's been happening as early as the past uh and i think last year jay pitched out of the bullpen three times for us uh in the postseason so i thought that this was a sound strategy that ultimately by performance just didn't work out just like then when then we can then we collapse into game three where we have tenaka who's our game to start our number two starter at the stage and hoping that would work out didn't work out you know the performance wasn't there and then uh and then monnie stepped up in game four and along with the bullpen and got us into a game five to get turned the ball over to to kohl and and uh we got you know knocked out with a you know in a very tightly contested ball game but the sad the strategy itself i felt was there's very sound uh there is a lot of information provided for how to navigate this unique team that we're playing which was the tampa bay rays because you don't see a team like this with the capabilities and the flexibility that they actually have in this particular roster and and uh you know provided a number of different ways to climb that mountain uh and then erin boon dissected it with his staff and and ultimately plotted a course a course i i certainly support but it didn't work out um but ultimately all we're doing was matchup baseball and trying to find a way to get the best matchups to allow our players that we currently have the best opportunity to have success that's the the greatest gift the manager can do which is put their position their players in the best position possible to succeed and then you know it's your it's that player against their player on each individual pitcher hitter matchup competition and you know may the best person win may the best team win and that's ultimately what happened in the end the best team won um but i thought that for instance j haps case he was put in a better position to try to have success that he would have been if he started that game uh despite his acknowledging that he didn't want to do he'd rather have started but gary sanchez would have rather started than hega shioka ultimately you're trying to find the best decisions possible just like clinton frazier would prefer to start game one in cleveland instead of brett gardener you know all these tough decisions have to get made by somebody in our manager uh erin boon is willing to make those tough decisions and then live with the consequences and therefore we as an organization live with the consequences because we are all we are all connected and we're all in and we're committed ultimately to to uh you know the decisions once a sound process is executed and as long the only i can demand and ask for in the chair i said is is to make sure that you have well thought out decisions make sure you spend the time uh and have good reasonings behind them and uh and that's it and i feel like that all took place here and uh it does feel like a little bit that we're not supposed to utilize um you know the same processes that all these other successful teams are utilizing too and it's the same processes have got us here on a year and a year out basis um ultimately i think if i can get better players you know a deeper roster uh which is on me you know um i think we have a chance to have you know maybe a better outcome in some of these uh matchups so so i'm sorry that for instance for my position that erin boon had to be in a position to try to find ways to maximize you know a back of the rotation whether it's a really young uh starter and debbie garcia that we really have high dreams for and think he has a chance to be really good or j happened the current you know uh setup he happens to be in at the stage of his career and and try to find a way to match those guys up in the proper setting in that particular series if i obviously had somehow uh either maintained health of current starters that were gone or acquired other starters that i could plug in play in there that might have been you know then those type of decisions don't have to be made uh but because of the roster the way it was configured which is my responsibility not his you know he was forced to try to come up with different game plans and and be open-minded to how to best navigate it and uh it didn't work out um but you know hopefully in the future will be in a better position than we are right now