New York Yankees fans aren’t thrilled with Brian Cashman right now, or their baseball team in general. The Yankees have lost three straight games to the Toronto Blue Jays, and no longer hold first place in the AL East as a result. While that isn’t all Cashman’s fault, he did play a vital role in putting this team together in the first place. A clip of Cashman from 2023 has gone viral this week, in which he suggested Anthony Volpe would break out offensively in the years to come.

Volpe, of course, has been anything but steady at the dish, while Gleyber Torres – a player who had a contentious relationship with Cashman and was therefore dumped last winter – will start the All-Star Game for the Detroit Tigers. Yanks Go Yard’s Thomas Carannante rightly pointed out Cashman’s hypocrisy in treating Volpe with kid gloves.

“But the real problem with Cashman’s defensive nature at the time was the blatant disregard for the truth,” Carannante wrote. “Even worse, however, was the blind and unwavering support for Anthony Volpe.”

Brian Cashman’s support of Anthony Volpe frustrates Yankees fans

That support hasn’t wavered this season, despite Volpe’s 11 errors. He’s just barely hitting above the Mendoza line, and his wRC+ leaves a lot to be desired. Torres, another former No. 1 prospect of Cashman’s, did not get the same support. In a statement released following his All-Star announcement, Torres thanks the Tigers and their fanbase for “support” he’s “never felt more strongly than now.” If that doesn’t sum up the Yankees predicament these days, I’m not sure what does.

Cashman supports Volpe in part because it’s his mistake. He’s willing to die on that hill, while Torres, for some reason, has been the targeted victim of shots from Cashman since he left New York.

“I acquired Jazz to be our second baseman and move Gleyber to third the rest of last year,” Cashman said last winter. “[Aaron Boone] wanted to do it the other way. He moved Jazz to third after we got him and kept Gleyber at second because Gleyber didn’t want to move to third and was unwilling.”

Gleyber Torres is better off without the Yankees and Brian Cashman

In response to that comment, Torres for the most part took the high road, saying simply that he views himself as a second baseman. Gleyber is an average-at-best defensive player, and lacks range in the middle of the infield. However, he’s been far less error-prone with the Tigers, who have instead built the rest of their infield around his strengths, all the while understanding his limitations. Torres will never be a gold glover, but he is productive enough at the dish to make up for that.

As we’ve written several times before, the Yankees stark double-standard has never been more obvious. When it came to Torres, the Yankees patience ran out rather quickly. However, with Volpe, Cashman seems willing to avoid confrontation and put the young shortstop on a pedestal.

Gleyber sees right through it, and his career benefitted as a result.