Facing Jeter's question, Cashman merely shook his head and slowly started speaking: "Joe's job has indeed been done quite excellently; there's no doubt about that. But after taking this World Series championship, I think it's time for both of us to start fresh again…"

As the head of the New York Yankees, there are many reasons why Cashman chose not to renew Girardi's contract, but they boil down to a few significant points:

First, Girardi's tough character and old-school style made it uncomfortable for him in the Big Apple City's arena of fame and fortune—unlike his predecessor Joe Torre, who was approachable and adept at navigating between the media and fans. Girardi was not skilled at using channels like media, television, and radio to promote the team and build relationships with fans, which is clearly insufficient for a club like the Yankees that is always highly scrutinized from all sides;

Second, Girardi's handling of relationships with team members, especially the young players who now make up the majority of the team, was not well-executed: during the past season, his overly tough stance on Gary Sanchez once led to a conflict, and some young players on the team expressed a noncommittal attitude towards this coach's temperament;

The direct trigger for Cashman not renewing Girardi's contract was a mistake in the playoff series against the Cleveland Indians (see section 039 "Breaking the Cauldrons and Sinking the Boats").

In summary, the Yankees hope to find a coach who is more focused on data analysis and better at building trust with the new generation of young players, thus accelerating the team's process of rejuvenation—after much deliberation, Don Mattingly, currently coaching the Miami Marlins, became the best candidate.

The 56-year-old Don Mattingly was a legendary figure of the Yankees during his playing days, devoting his entire career to the Striped Legion and being one of the most renowned captains in the team's history—even though he never won a World Series championship for the Yankees during his playing career, the Yankees permanently retired his number 23 jersey after his retirement, which was unprecedented in history.

More importantly, after retirement, Mattingly continuously learned under the tutelage of the Yankees' legendary coach Joe Torre. Influenced by Torre's coaching style, he took over the Los Angeles Dodgers' helm after Torre retired—during his time with the Dodgers, although Mattingly didn't lead the young team to a World Series, his team led commendably and received praise from stars including Kershaw.

With outstanding personal charisma, adept at handling media relations, embodying the Yankees DNA, loved deeply by the Yankees fan community, and proven coaching abilities… these qualities make Mattingly the top candidate to succeed Girardi.

Mattingly's personal opinion naturally needs no further discussion: as a Yankees legend, the inability to claim a World Series championship during his career is a lifelong regret for this old captain. Now having such an opportunity to make amends presented to him, and with the offers coming from the team he has loved his entire life, Cashman believes there's no reason for him to reject the offer.

The only issue now is that Mattingly had just signed a 4-year coaching contract with the Marlins in 2016, so if the Yankees want to recruit him, they must first obtain official consent from the Marlins to communicate with the coach himself, otherwise, they would face hefty fines from the league for violations.

After hearing Cashman's explanation, Derek Jeter nodded gently, "If so, let's sit down and talk... but Brian, let me say this first. While I am a Yankees legend, my current identity is the CEO of the Marlins, so in the subsequent negotiation stage, all my decisions will originate from the interests of the Marlins…"

Cashman laughed heartily at the sight and replied happily, "Of course, I understand business principles; as long as your offered price is within our bearable range, the Yankees will meet all of the Marlins' demands."

-----------------

Just as the Yankees were methodically progressing in negotiations with the Marlins and Mattingly, other MLB teams were also actively strengthening their lineups.

From an overall perspective, the 2017-18 offseason exhibited a trend of polarization:

The Yankees' championship victory greatly stimulated some already strong teams, such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were just one step away from the World Series, and the Boston Red Sox, who lost the division series to the Houston Astros—these teams made targeted improvements on the weaknesses of their existing lineups.

The Dodgers first completed a contract renewal with Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish, whom they acquired through a mid-season trade. Owing to Darvish's stable and outstanding performance after joining the Dodgers, they signed a 6-year 126 million US Dollar contract with him;

Additionally, they promoted Max Muncy, the young power-hitting third baseman acquired from the Oakland Athletics, further enhancing their already strong lineup.

The Boston Red Sox, who suffered offensive struggles last season, first hired Dusty Baker, a powerful coach who had just terminated his contract early with the Washington Nationals, and then targeted the free agent market's biggest hitter, J.D. Martinez, presenting him with a 5-year 110-million-dollar new contract;

Whether hiring Baker, a coach focusing on offense, or signing Martinez to boost firepower, both actions revealed the Red Sox's ambitions for the new season.

But to talk about which team grabbed the most attention this winter, we must look towards Florida, where no roles go unoccupied:

There, the newly appointed Miami Marlins initiated a significant sell-off—as they failed to achieve results for several consecutive seasons, the new CEO Derek Jeter frantically sold off the Marlins' valuable players, aiming to exchange them for more chips and future assets.

Marcel Ozuna, who had a career year and set career-highs in various stats last season, was the first to be traded. The Marlins sent him to the Cardinals, in exchange for a package centered around potential pitcher Sandy Alcantara;

Soon, the recent National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton was also put on the trade shelf. Ultimately, it wasn't the New York Yankees, who were loudly rumored previously, but the 2016 World Series champion Chicago Cubs that successfully acquired this star:

The Cubs paid a package primarily of left-handed power hitter Kyle Schwarber, who still had two years of control left, supplemented by two low-level minor league prospects, acquiring Stanton in Chicago at a relatively reasonable price—if not for the Marlins' urgency to shed Stanton's contract, coupled with Stanton's trade veto clause designating the Dodgers, Yankees, Astros, and Cubs as his desired destinations, this package evidently wouldn't satisfy the Marlins' appetite.

With core players successively traded away, Marlins' another main outfielder, Christian Yelich, felt quite dissatisfied and submitted a trade request to the team; his request was quickly granted by the Marlins' upper management, and he was subsequently traded to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Soon, the New York Yankees' official announcement also went live on their official website:

[The New York Yankees today officially announce the appointment of Donald Arthur Mattingly as the team's new head coach. Mattingly will immediately assume his position, leading the team into preparations for the new season.]

[Yankees fans, let's welcome the "Captain" back!]

Once this news was released, it immediately stirred a massive wave among the Yankees fan base: if previously, many fans felt disgruntled with the management's perpetual refusal to renew Girardi's contract, causing a delay in confirming the team's preparation for the new season, such grievances vanished in an instant as Mattingly entered Yankee Stadium—the fact remains, there isn't any Yankees fan in the world who doesn't love Don Mattingly.

And the first significant trade of the Mattingly era soon followed: to make up for Gary Sanchez's shortcomings in the catcher's role, Mattingly, after discussion with the player himself, decided to shift Sanchez to first base for the 2018 season, in a bid to completely unleash his offensive potential which still holds much developmental space;

Moreover, the Yankees' new primary catcher is also a player from the Miami Marlins: the Yankees continued to clear their farm system, bringing in J.T. Realmuto, aged 26, renowned for his balanced offensive and defensive abilities.

As one team after another completes their roster, the new MLB season is destined to be another bloody battle…