Will Aaron Boone gets the boot?
The Yankees were handed a loss in the ALCS by the Astros, once again coming up short of the organization’s goal of ring No. 28.
Gone are the days of the mercurial George Steinbrenner firing managers for breakfast, but Boone’s standing has felt tenuous at best, even with a contract extension he signed prior to the start of the 2022 season. That leaves ownership with an interesting decision: Do you can the manager who guided the team to a 99-win season, or move on in hope of finding a different solution with the bench boss?
MORE: Astros end Yankees’ season with ALCS sweep
While a lot of the Yankees’ issues in 2022 were less on the manager and more on the construction of the roster, Boone being the most front-facing non-player in the organization means he could be the scapegoat.
Here are some potential candidates to replace Boone if the Yankees choose to move on:
Luis Rojas
Current job: Third base coach, Yankees
Experience: Manager, Mets (2020-21)
The Yankees hired Rojas as third base coach in November 2021, adding more “veteran leadership” to the team’s bench.
Rojas’ tenure in New York as Mets manager wasn’t without its flaws, but he was still well-liked among Mets players and has the ever important “baseball DNA” — Rojas is the son of former MLB great Felipe Alou and the half-brother of former player Moises Alou. Rojas also handled the media well, which is a big part of the job in the Big Apple, unlike in other jobs across baseball.
If the Yankees choose to keep Rojas in the fold, he’d be a viable option.
MORE: Boone blames Houston’s open roof for denying Aaron Judge HR
Carlos Beltran
Current job: YES Network analyst
Experience: None
Another former (kind of) Mets manager makes the list.
Beltran was hired to be the Mets’ manager for 2020 and beyond, but he was fired from the job before he could even get in the dugout. Beltran was the only player named in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, which led to he and the Mets parting ways.
Even with the scandal as a blot on his resume, Beltran has long been heralded as a good communicator and an exceptionally smart baseball mind. That, and the fact that Yankee brass wouldn’t have to look far beyond the broadcast booth, could make him another option.
After all, managers deserve a second chance, too.
MORE: Sign-stealing scandal will likely hurt Carlos Beltran’s 2023 Hall of Fame chances
Hensley Meulens
Current job: Assistant hitting coach, Yankees
Experience: Manager, Netherlands World Baseball Classic team
Meulens is a former Yankee, and he has interviewed for the Yankees’ manager job in the past. He lost out to Boone in 2018.
“Bam Bam” found his way to the Bronx, anyway. He was hired as assistant hitting coach in 2022 after last serving in the dugout for the Mets in 2020. Meulens was long considered to be the heir apparent to Bruce Bochy in San Francisco, but the organization opted to go with Gabe Kapler instead.
With Meulens a baseball lifer and with ties to the organization, there’s a chance that the team could look in his direction for an interview.
Jorge Posada
Current job: N/A
Experience: None
Aaron Boone often gets blasted by fans and media for being too lax and bringing no passion to the job. (It worked for Joe Torre for two decades, but that’s beside the point.)
While Posada had something of an icy end with the Yankees, the former catcher and fan favorite would slot seamlessly into a manager role, a position he has been eyeing for some time. He worked under Derek Jeter with the Marlins as a special instructor and guest coach.
He also fits that “former catcher as a manager” archetype that seems to work well.
Don Mattingly
Current job: N/A
Experience: Manager, Dodgers, 2011-15; manager, Marlins, 2016-22
Mattingly stretched out the Marlins gig into a seven-year stint, somehow defying expectations while still being a sub-.500 manager during his time there.
A Joe Torre disciple, Mattingly coming back to the Bronx would be a welcome homecoming for the former franchise stalwart. He spent time as Torre’s bench coach in 2007, after three seasons as the Yanks’ hitting coach, before following Torre out to the West Coast in 2008 to be the Dodgers’ hitting coach.
With his Marlins tenure at its end, it will be interesting to see if there’s still some baseball left in the 61-year-old “Donnie Baseball” — or if an old-timer like him is even wanted back.
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