Aaron Boone set to return as Yankees manager?

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 Tuesday 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 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 bounce-back for the club. It went 94-68, winning the American League East and having the best record in A.L. The Yankees 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 4 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.