The New York Post’s bold statement on the Dodgers should inspire spending spree from Yankees’ Brian Cashman

The New York Yankees’ fanbase should feel sickened about how The New York Post’s Matt Ehalt described the Los Angeles Dodgers: they’re what the Pinstripes used to be, back in the good old days.

As Ehalt writes, the Dodgers, who were largely irrelevant in the 1990s, are what the Yankees were during that golden era, which bled into the 2000s and peaked in the 2003/2004 offseason when the team added third baseman Alex Rodriguez, outfielder Gary Sheffield, starters Kevin Brown and Javier Vasquez, and closer/setup man Tom Gordon, among many others, in one of the greatest spending sprees ever seen in professional sports at the time. Several of those were acquired on the trade market, which the Yanks also used to dominate.

Of course, Andrew Friedman, not Brian Cashman, is the trade ace these days.

Ehalt made the comment while examining a meeting between LAD ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto and free agent corner infielder Munetaka Murakami, another potential Dodgers addition this offseason. New York is not a serious suitor for Murakami, but figures to have interest in outfielder/corner infielder Kazuma Okamoto.

“Fresh off a second straight World Series and two consecutive offseasons in which they signed the biggest Japanese free agent, star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto grabbed dinner with top Japanese free agent Munetaka Murakami, as captured in a photo by Kenshiro Saito,” Ehalt wrote.

“Now, of course, this dinner may be nothing more than just two friends catching up.

“However, the Dodgers have become the Yankees of the 1990s and early 2000s in free agency, signing premier player after premier player no matter the shocking cost.”

Brian Cashman needs to change the narrative for the Yankees

It wasn’t that long ago that Cashman evoked the 1990s spirit of spending. Following the 2013 season, the Yankees signed outfielder Carlos Beltran, catcher Brian McCann, outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, and international starting pitchers Masahiro Tanaka and Hiroki Kuroda in a historic free agent spree. It just didn’t work. NYY didn’t become relevant again until most of them were gone.

It’s about getting these spending sprees right. Not only do the Dodgers get it right, but they reinvest in more talent after winning it all. Then they win it all again.

Cashman knows how to do this. He just needs to buff his chest out and figure out how to adapt to what makes for championship-level players in the modern game.