Why Yankees' Brian Cashman Won't Attend MLB GM Meetings for 1st Time in 28 Years

New York Yankees general manager and senior vice president Brian Cashman is not in attendance at the ongoing league general managers meetings in Las Vegas due to a "last-minute non-baseball obligation."

Chris Kirschner of The Athletic relayed that news from MLB and Yankees spokesmen on Tuesday regarding Cashman, who has attended these meetings each year since he became the team's GM in 1998.

However, Cashman will talk remotely to reporters on Wednesday. The Yankees are also being represented in person by numerous front office members, including assistant general managers Michael Fishman and Jean Afterman.

The Yankees won 94 games and tied the Toronto Blue Jays for first place in the AL East. However, Toronto won the head-to-head tiebreaker, forcing the Yanks into the AL Wild Card Series versus the Boston Red Sox.

New York won that series in three games and then faced the Blue Jays in the AL Division Series, losing in four games.

The Yankees have some big decisions to make as they look to win their first World Series in 16 years.

Of note, outfielders Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham, both of whom fared quite well this year, are free agents.

The bullpen, which was sometimes dominant but other times prone to giving up late-inning leads, needs more help, especially with Devin Williams and Luke Weaver now free agents.

New York certainly has building blocks in place to compete again, namely Aaron Judge, who has led MLB in OPS in three of the last four years. Max Fried was also a bona fide ace last year, winning 19 games and posting a 2.86 ERA while striking out 189 batters. Cam Schlittler, who authored a 12-strikeout performance over eight shutout frames against the Red Sox, also looks like he'll be a great mainstay in the rotation for a while.

However, there's work to be done, especially after Toronto crushed the Yankees in the playoffs. New York's offense wasn't up to par, and the starting pitching, for the most part, didn't fare well at all.

Cashman ultimately has some decisions to make with his front office behind him as the Yankees continue their search for World Series No. 28.