Cashman says Taylor, Cottier will be replaced

By Jon Heyman, SI.com

Joe Torre's job was spared, but the Yankees have fired their two long-time advance scouts, Wade Taylor and Chuck Cottier. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman confirmed the firings but said the decision was unrelated to the team's disappointing postseason.

"It had nothing to do with losing to Detroit, " Cashman said.

Cashman had already begun overhauling the club's scouting ranks when he recently let go their Pacific rim scout John Cox. Cashman said they will be hiring several scouts, if they haven't already, but won't be announcing who they are. Their names will simply appear in next year's media guide.

To replace Taylor, a former Yankees pitcher, and Cottier, Cashman said they'd hire two pro scouts, who will do the advance work plus other special assignments. The Yankees plan to hire scouts in different regions to cover the whole league and will also use more video work to scout opponents.

"We're still going to advance and have people in the stands," Cashman said. "We're just not renewing the two people we had."