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Brian Cashman is confident in the 2026 Yankees but doesn't feel like they're different.

The New York Yankees may seem different in 2026. But general manager Brian Cashman insists that is not the case.

Cashman pushed back on the narrative that the Yankees are playing with more urgency to win in 2026 despite their stellar 26-15 start.

The Yankees still sit in second place in the American League East, since they lost three in a row to the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend. But they have the fourth-best record in baseball and have pitched like the best team through the season’s first six weeks.

Brian Cashman: The Yankees are ‘Acting the Same Way We Did in Years Gone by’

The Yankees ruthlessly ran roughshod over the majors during a 16-3 stretch where they outscored the opposition 135-54. They shot to the top of the American League, even while the Tampa Bay Rays have been challenged them all the while.

“I know there’s this narrative that all of a sudden we woke up and smelled the coffee,” Cashman told The Athletic. “We know it’s a must-win year — that we’re making roster moves that reflect that, and we’ve almost found a different gear. None of that is true.”

The Yankees have been to the World Series only once under manager Aaron Boone, in 2024, in nine seasons. But they have only missed the playoffs once under Boone (2023) and appear headed for another 94-plus-win season, which would be their sixth in the past decade.

“We are acting the same way as we did in years gone by,” Cashman said. “We just have more legitimate alternative choices to turn to, if they present themselves. I don’t feel like there’s anything different right now.”

Things May be Different for the Yankees This Year

To Cashman’s point, the Yankees are 60-30 in their past 90 regular-season games dating back to Aug. 5, 2025. The general manager’s trade-deadline moves last season were geared with the 2026 campaign in mind, since the Yankees dealt with starting-pitching injuries throughout last year.

But even though Cashman says things aren’t different, the team’s roster and competition fly in the face of that sentiment.

For instance, New York released Randal Grichuk on April 29 to make room for starting pitcher Elmer Rodriguez because it had outfield prospect Jasson Dominguez available. When Dominguez went down last week, the Yankees called on outfielder Spencer Jones, who played all three games in Milwaukee over the weekend.

If Jones, who is slashing .111/.200/.111 with one RBI in his three major-league games, doesn’t produce, the Yankees will have Dominguez and/or Giancarlo Stanton back in the majors soon.

The Yankees are tied for the best ERA in baseball (3.14) with the Atlanta Braves and lead the American League in starters’ ERA (3.07).

But when 2024 American League Rookie of the Year Luis Gil struggled, the Yankees sent him back to Triple-A to make space first for Rodriguez then for staff co-ace Carlos Rodon.

Rodon made his 2026 debut Sunday and was inefficient through 4 1/3 innings. But his return, and the comeback of 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole, intend to make the Yankees’ starting staff even stronger around Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Ryan Weathers and Will Warren.