As recently as the start of the playoffs, pockets of New York Yankees fans viewed manager Aaron Boone as more of a weakness than a strength for the “World Series-or-bust” team.
Those fans may want to get used to seeing Boone in the Yankees dugout for years to come.
After Boone led New York to a 2-0 American League Championship Series lead over the Cleveland Guardians, Bob Klapisch of NJ Advance Media shared that “recent conversations with club sources indicate (Yankees owner) Hal Steinbrenner and (senior vice president/general manager) Brian Cashman are privately giving Boone high marks for his performance” this season.
“It would take a catastrophic failure for Boone’s job to suddenly be in jeopardy,” Klapisch added. “That would mean losing four of the next five games to the Guardians.”
Boone is in the last guaranteed year of a contract that includes a club option for 2025. While he’s guided the Yankees to six playoff appearances across seven years, he likely realized as soon as the club acquired All-Star slugger Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres last December that New York failing to return to the World Series for the first time since it won the 2009 Fall Classic would result in Steinbrenner going in a different direction this fall.
This ultimately could prove to be Boone’s best chance to win a title with the Yankees, as Soto remains on track to reach free agency next month and seemingly won’t offer the Bronx Bombers any type of discount in negotiations. Meanwhile, key contributors such as team captain Aaron Judge have repeatedly backed Boone throughout his tenure.
“Some managers might resent being overshadowed by a superstar,” Klapisch explained. “In this case, the Yankees have two. Boone has taken a back seat to Judge and Soto, who have become friends. Neither is jealous of the other.”
Steinbrenner could make a change if the Yankees get past the Guardians but then fall to either the New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers in the upcoming World Series. With that said, Klapisch believes Cashman will “strongly advocate for Boone with Steinbrenner” and even “tell Boone the job is his indefinitely.” Cashman’s contract runs through the 2026 season.
The Guardians showed few signs in the first two games of the ALCS that resumes in downtown Cleveland on Thursday afternoon that they can beat the Yankees four times in five tries. Barring such an upset from taking place, it seems like Boone could put pen to paper on a contract extension at some point between the end of the World Series and the start of spring training.