Yankees manager Aaron Boone is in the final guaranteed year of his contract, though the Yanks can retain him for 2025 via a club option. Boone told Chris Kirschner of The Athletic yesterday (X link) that he was focused on the World Series and hadn’t had any recent contract talks. Jon Heyman of The New York Post writes that the club is expected to “at least” pick up that option, suggesting Boone is likely to be back next year.
Boone, 51, is in the final days of his seventh season as the Yankee skipper. The club has had plenty of success in that time, making the postseason in six of those seven seasons. Nonetheless, many fans have been displeased with his tenure, perhaps due to the lack of postseason success or the fact that the club dipped to a record of 82-80 in 2023 and missed the playoffs entirely.
But the 2024 campaign was a big bounceback for the club. They went 94-68, winning the American League East and having the best record in A.L. After getting a bye through the Wild Card round, they defeated the Royals in the ALDS and the Guardians in the ALCS.
The World Series has been a challenge so far, with the Yanks dropping the first three games to the Dodgers. They managed to stay alive with a victory in game four last night but still face a steep path to victory.
Many will be unhappy if the Yankees can’t pull off an unprecedented comeback, but it’s not terribly surprising that Boone has seemingly earned himself some extra job security. How much a manager can impact on-field performance is something that can be endlessly debated but there’s usually a rough correlation between positive results and keeping the gig. With the strong regular season in 2024 and the club making it to the World Series for the first time since 2009, it would be a shock if Boone weren’t invited back for 2025.
Even if he is back in the dugout next year, what remains to be decided is what the contract will look like. Generally speaking, teams don’t like their managers or front office members to be in lame-duck status, so the Yanks may not simply pick up the option. The Yankees and Boone could agree to some sort of extension, perhaps by adding another guaranteed year or another option for 2026.
However, the Yankees did let Boone manage as a lame duck once before. His original contract was a three-year deal starting in 2018 with a club option for 2021. They eventually picked up that option and he skippered the club in ’21 with his future uncertain. It wasn’t until October 19 of that year that it was reported that he would be coming back. He and the club agreed to a new three-year deal for the 2022-24 seasons with the aforementioned option for ’25.
Frankenstein club every year. Might as well extend Boone if you’re gonna keep Cashman around
I think Cashman is the one that needs to go
There’s room for both in the unemployment line.
Cashmans only move is to blame Houston for the Yankees failures.
There should be no mystery here.
Georgie would’ve had extended Boone already.
Probably would have fired him, then rehired him to a new contract a little bit later.
Costanza?
Costanza would have found a way to get Terry Francona and it wouldn’t cost the Yankees much at all.
No, he would have fired him after losing the Wild Card to the Sox in ’21
The comeback would not be unprecedented, it’s been done before
No team has ever come back from down 3-0 in the World Series
First time for everything!
“first time for everything”…Keep in mind that the Dodgers did manage and play the game like it didn’t really matter(with a 3-0 lead). I’m fairly certain that will not happen again.
only twice in WS history has a team come back from being down 3 games to one to win the Championship
The 1979 Pirates and the 2004 Red Sox
The odds aren’t good
The 1968 Tigers were down 3 games to one and took the final 3 games to win the World Series.
@detigs6884
Good call. The first World Series I watched as a kid. One memory was seeing pictures that winter of WS MVP Mickey Lolich flipping pizzas at his off-season job. Things have changed just a tad.
royals in 1985
@TheMan 3 – Those were division championship series.
The 2004 Red Sox swept the Cardinals in the World Series. However, you are probably thinking of the ALCS
It’s happened a few times. 2016 Cubs for one.
The broadcasters mentioned it last night on the international feed, but no team in MLB history has gone down 3-0 in the World Series and forced a game 6, let alone won a World Series.
That’s the situation the Yanks are in. If they win tonight, they will have already done something that’s never been done.
No team has done it during the World Series
Umm what? No team has ever done it, let alone force a game 7.
Down 3 to 1 has happened a few times. Down 3-0, never in WS, once in ALCS.
Cora hasn’t done anything in 5 years and got extended. I’m not a Yankees guy, but Boone hasn’t dipped below .500 in his tenor. He deserves an extension.
“Many will be unhappy if the Yankees can’t pull off an unprecedented comeback.”
You mean Yankees fans or ???
The Dodgers are kind of a west coast Yankees, plenty in this region are rooting against them and would love to see them be the poster child for historic WS collapse.
But if that collapse comes at the hands of the actual Yankees that kinda defects the purpose.
In Orange county since last week people have been wearing Dodgers gear. And the Angels fans I work with in Anaheim aren’t going to cheer for the Yankees.
West Coast Yankees, as in winning a ton of games every year? What baseball fan wouldn’t want that from their team? The Dodgers are the anti-Angels.
That game 1 decision to bring in Nestor isn’t helping his case for an extension at all.
Pulling Cole at 88 pitches when he was dealing, and sending Nestor were terrible decisions.
Hasn’t been a manager who has done so much with so little during his tenure. Not only does he deserve a new contract, he deserves a raise. I know it. You know it. Aaron knows it. If the Yanks act foolishly and let him walk, he will be snapped up in a day by a team that will fire their manager that morning just to get Boone in their dugout.
Solid bait
First time I ever heard Terry Troll make any since.
Do you watch any of the games ?
If mom isn’t watching her shows or she went out with the girls and I have the place to myself I do
Thanks for the chuckle.
“Just to get Boone in their dugout”…Boone is more the poster child of not being able to be fired once you’re in good with Yankee’s owners. Brian Cashman is the original poster child.
Terry Turdbucket obviously has a fathead of Aaron Boone mounted above his bed.
Boone was only manager because of 03. He’s not actually that great. Steinbrenner likes living in the past.
Wow. Fantastic article. Great research.
I think he and the analysts and GM behind him all need to go
Only in Yankee fantasy land does a manager go to the World Series and fans don’t want him back.
Your statement is a straw man argument.
No when has a World Series manager ever been talked about not coming back besides retiring.
Boone’s problems is he wants and thinks he is there friend first and manager sometime. Be a manager, not there best friend.
The lackadaisical base running and poor defense could doom him barring a miracle comeback. Seems like the Yankees need a more hands-on manager now. With all the young players they have now and more on the way they need to make sure those guys don’t turn into Gleyber Torres.
Boone has done a good job. This is the same fan base that used to refer to Joe Torre as “Clueless Joe.”
That’s actually not correct… that was prior to his Yankees tenure.
And Boone doing a “good job” is relative. If a better manager were in place the Yankees would likely be leading the series (or at worst, one game behind).
Although I understand why you may think he has, watching him manage for seven years paints a very different story. He has been the benefactor of talented teams with which he consistently underperforms.
The Yankees are no where close to the top teams in the NL. They probably wouldn’t have been a playoff team in the NL. They went 22-23 vs the National league. No way they are better then the Dodgers with any manager.
Haven’t watched much of the WS but why blame Boone when the roster is only Judge and Soto? They enjoyed strong performances from guys that weren’t much in the regular season that helped overcome AL Central teams. Now those performances are slipping up, and Judge is still slumping, so not surprising they aren’t putting up much of a fight.
Yankee fans, a hypothetical scenario. Boston offers Alex Cora for Boone. Would you want to see this happen?
Boone’s managerial decision in game one should be enough to let him go,
Managing the Yankees is a stressful job, you can see how he has aged.
He had his run, time to move on,
Someone needs to weigh in here with a comment of how Boone’s teams ALWAYS go through a prolonged slump. His teams rarely go on long winning streaks or manage to put mediocre teams away. Look at how the 2024 Yankees stacked up against the White Sox, Pittsburgh or Colorado.
@Yankee Clipper, I am sure you can provide more of Boone’s inability to get the job done.
When you’re the manager, it isn’t in the job description to win the popularity contest with the players.
You mean that MLB trade rumors can’t even wait until the world series is over to post Boone’s future. Come on give it a rest
How come Jason Giambi isn’t in the mix?