There’s plenty of speculation about Yankees manager Aaron Boone’s future with the team. New York, freshly eliminated from playoff contention, sits fourth in the AL East at 78-77. That’s not the “Yankee Way” at all.
And among calls for his ouster, Boone didn’t offer any hints ahead of Monday’s game vs. Arizona. In fact, he hasn’t been told anything.
“I don’t worry about it. It’s out of my hands,” he said to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. I’m completely comfortable with who I am and the things I can control. In my mind, I’m doing everything to head into the offseason prepared to put us in a better position to try and compete for a championship. That’s what the goal is, and until they take that away, that’s my focus.”
We’ve discussed this before and will again now. Aaron Boone is under contract through next year, plus an option for 2025. Firing him means still paying him while also negotiating a new contract for his successor. Dead money isn’t a good look no matter the circumstances.
That said, the Yankees’ players have done nothing but defend Boone all year long. He stood up for them through and through, insisting a turnaround was imminent until he was blue in the face. Unless they’re just paying lip service, he’s probably back and the front office plays the “Aaron Judge was injured” card.
Even so, Hoch spoke to first baseman and Aaron Judge’s loyal first mate Anthony Rizzo, who followed the team captain in implying changes need to come.
““You can’t just sit here and say that what we did this year is good enough to go into next year,” Rizzo said. “You’ve got to, first, look yourself in the mirror and say, why wasn’t this clubhouse good enough? But over the course of the season, we just didn’t play well enough. There’s stuff behind that, but I think as you get into the offseason even more, you’ll be able to dissect what didn’t go well.”
Rizzo also added that despite such a bad season, the players remained fully united.
If that is indeed the case, then Aaron Boone should be able to breathe a little easier. Until then, all we can do is wait till the season ends.
