The Yankees are making a notable change in the support system around Brian Cashman, parting ways with two veteran baseball minds who had been working behind the scenes in New York.
According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, the team will not renew the contracts of Omar Minaya and Brian Sabean, both of whom served as special assistants to the general manager. Heyman wrote, “The Yankees aren’t renewing the contracts Omar Minaya and Brian Sabean, who served as special assistants to GM Brian Cashman, via sources,”
Minaya and Sabean had been in the organization since January 2023, arriving just two days apart. Sabean’s hire was announced Jan. 3, 2023, and Minaya followed on Jan.
- Their exits now leave the Yankees without two experienced advisers who brought long scouting and front-office résumés to the table.
The pair came in with different backgrounds but similar value to the club’s baseball operations group. Minaya had run the Mets and Montreal Expos, and his career also included work with the Rangers, Mets, Expos and Padres, along with a stint as an MLB consultant on domestic and international amateur scouting. His time in Texas included helping discover Sammy Sosa and Iván Rodríguez.
Sabean brought a deep Yankees and Giants history. He worked in the Yankees organization from 1985 through 1992, moving from scout to scouting director and then vice president of player development and scouting. After that, he spent 30 seasons with the Giants and was the general manager during their World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014.
The Yankees originally gave Minaya the title of senior adviser to baseball operations and Sabean the title of executive adviser to the general manager. Those roles placed both men in the orbit of the club’s baseball decision-making, even as Cashman remained in charge.
Heyman did not report a reason for the nonrenewals, and no replacements were named.
The move comes as the Yankees keep Cashman and manager Aaron Boone in place for the 2027 season. So while the top of the organization remains steady after another disappointing postseason exit, the advisory layer around baseball operations is being reshaped.
What the change means in practical terms is straightforward: the Yankees are losing two former general managers with traditional scouting backgrounds and decades of experience. Cashman will move into the offseason without that particular blend of perspective around him, and the next step will be seeing how the organization fills those advisory roles.
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