Hal Steinbrenner throws Yankees players under the bus while confirming returns of Aaron Boone, Brian Cashman

As had been expected, New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner confirmed on Wednesday that Yankees vice president/general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone will be staying in their roles through at least this offseason. 

While speaking with reporters, Steinbrenner made it clear who he blames for the fact that the Yankees were swept by the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Division Series round of this year's postseason tournament.

Hal Steinbrenner "disappointed" with Yankees players, not with team leadership

"I don't think you can pin the season and the unacceptable end to it on Aaron. I don't think you can pin it on [Cashman]," Steinbrenner said, per Phillip Martinez of SNY. "I was disappointed, quite frankly, with the offense throughout the course of the year…as a whole, they were very inconsistent when it came to run scoring. And that made it difficult to catch the Rays and win the division. Winning the division is a big deal in this playoff format. This has been twice now that the offense has not lived up to their end of the bargain."

Injuries kept Yankees slugger and team captain Aaron Judge out of action for all but seven games from June 1 through New York's three-game sweep at the hands of the Rays. Without having Judge in the lineup or as a pinch hitter, the Yankees never held a lead during the ALDS, were shut out in Game 1 and then produced a total of just five runs over the final two contests of the series. 

"When you look at the subpar season, that certainly ended in an unacceptable way, is [Boone] really responsible? In the end, the majority of the responsibility, I’ll say it for the fifth time, in my mind, in my opinion, lies with the position players and the inability to score on a consistent basis throughout the course of the entire season, for the most part, and not on the shoulders of Aaron Boone does the blame lie," Steinbrenner added during the news conference. 

Hal Steinbrenner explains his faith in Aaron Boone, Brian Cashman

Despite the failures of the lineup assembled by Cashman that Steinbrenner mentioned, Cashman will soon ink a new deal to remain with the Yankees. As for Boone, he is signed through the 2027 campaign and seemingly will spend next year managing on an expiring contract.

"I know how talented they are and I know how intelligent they are," Steinbrenner said about his faith in the Boone-Cashman duo, as shared by Martinez. "Particularly with Boone, given all the managerial duties there are, especially playing in New York, is a good manager. And I've been through the reasons why Cash is a good [executive]. A good leader, a good listener and very intelligent. I have no doubt. We are OK with this leadership group." 

Steinbrenner seemingly isn't "OK" enough with Boone to give the skipper an extension this fall. That could lead one to believe Boone may have to guide the Yankees to at least their second World Series trip since 2024 to keep his job beyond next year.