Survey offers warning for Yankees' Aaron Boone, Brian Cashman

It appears New York Yankees All-Star slugger Aaron Judge isn't the only noteworthy member of the MLB community who understands the club may be staring at a "World Series-or-bust" campaign following the acquisition of outfielder Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres this offseason. 

Jayson Stark of The Athletic wrote on Friday that a panel of "31 executives, former executives, coaches and scouts" voted that Yankees manager Aaron Boone and senior vice president/general manager Brian Cashman "are feeling the most pressure" among all teams, front offices and managers heading into the 2024 season. 

Cashman has held the job since 1998, has never been responsible for a losing season and is on a contract that runs through the 2026 campaign. However, Stark was sure to note that the Yankees haven't even appeared in a World Series since they won the Fall Classic back in 2009. Such a run is unacceptable for many who support the storied franchise. 

"I love Cash," an unnamed National League executive told The Athletic. "He’s been there longer than anybody. But that team is going to have to make a statement." 

Boone, meanwhile, is entering the last guaranteed year of a contract that includes a club option for 2025. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner suggested on Thursday he's open to making at least one big signing between the final weekend of February and Opening Day, but he declined to confirm that Boone has to guide his club to an American League Championship Series victory to have his job 12 months from now. 

"That’s something I deal with when the season’s over," Steinbrenner said about Boone's future, per Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News. "It’s not something I’m pondering right now. There’s just so much baseball." 

As of late Friday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Yankees as fourth among the betting favorites at +1000 odds to win the World Series this fall. The 2023 Yankees never fully recovered after Judge suffered a torn ligament in his big right toe in early June, and Steinbrenner may not give Cashman and Boone mulligans if a similar setback sinks the club's 2024 season.