The Yankees will have a lot to mull over now that they’re in offseason mode after being embarrassingly swept out of the postseason by the Houston Astros. Among the items that Yankees brass will need to decide on is the future of manager Aaron Boone.
The Yanks skipper has come under increasing scrutiny over the course of the season and after five years of playoff futility, there is growing frustration over the lack of success in October. It’s hard to say that Boone has lost the clubhouse, but there was a few moments, including after Game 3 of the ALDS, when players seemed to openly question some of his decision-making.
Do all of the Yankees’ shortcomings this season rest on Boone’s shoulders? No, that wouldn’t be fair to say, but after being knocked out in the fashion that the Yankees were there needs to be some changes. By all accounts, Brian Cashman won’t be the sacrificial lamb when all is said and done, even though Yankees fans have seemed to grow weary of his tenure.
However, Boone’s status is a bit harder to predict after the year he has had in New York.
“It’s an awful day, just an awful ending. It stings. It hurts,” Boone said following the Game 4 loss. “But the ending, as I’ve said before, it’s cruel. So much goes into it and trying to climb to that top of the mountain. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to get there yet, and I know it will continue to motivate everyone in there to try and get there. That’s what you work for and don’t take for granted the opportunity you have sitting in front of you. But the ending is terrible.”
So what happens if the Yankees decide to part ways with their manager? And how do ownership and Cashman sell the club to frustrated Yankees fans if Aaron Judge decides to take his home run swing elsewhere?
Hiring the right manager would be a start, and here are three managerial options that could help settle a restless fanbase.
Don Mattingly
Call this the ultimate move to right a lot of wrongs. The Yankees legend missed out on the years of success in the Bronx during his playing days and was passed over for a manager job with New York years later. To say he would receive a hero’s welcome if he was brought in to lead the Yankees back to the promised land would be an understatement
Mattingly is done with managing the Marlins, so the opportunity is there to bring him back into the fold in the Bronx if they decide that would be the best move. There is also a question of whether he still has any interest in managing.
Carlos Beltran
Beltran had been tapped to be the Mets’ manager in late 2019, but was fired before he could manage a game thanks to the fallout of the Houston Astros cheating scandal. He was the only player implicated by name in the scandal and ended up in the Yankees broadcast booth as an analyst.
The scandal will be something that follows him around, but Beltran still possesses a strong baseball IQ and he has a history with the organization. Beltran played for the Yanks from 2014-2016 and later interviewed for the managerial position in 2017, which eventually went to Boone.
Beltran would serve as a special adviser to Cashman after being hired for the job in December of 2018.
Joe Maddon
Madden was shown the door in Los Angeles in June after the Angels lost 12 games straight, but it’s hard to put a lot of the blame for their season on the now-former manager. And Madden still has a resume to prove he can win in the majors. Between his time managing the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs, his teams averaged 92 wins from 2008-2019 and went to the playoffs eight times during that span.
He helped break the World Series curse in Chicago in 2019 and made a World Series appearance in 2008 with the Rays.
