About the Off-Season: Are the Stars Aligned?

About the Off-Season: Are the Stars Aligned?

By Tim Kabel

November 9, 2025

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At this point, the status of the New York Yankees’ coaching staff is up in the air for 2026. Aaron Boone is under contract through 2027 and the Yankees exercised the options on pitching coach Matt Blake and catching coordinator Tanner Swanson for the 2026 season. It has been confirmed that first base and infield coach Travis Chapman and bullpen coach Mike Harkey, who had been there since 1902, will not be returning next year. Nothing else is official.

Since no one other than Matt Blake of the on-field coaches is under contract that means the Yankees have openings. While it is true that Brad Ausmus, Luis Rojas and James Rowson could all return, it is also possible that they won't.

Interestingly, the other day Don Mattingly parted ways with the Toronto Blue Jays after three seasons as a hitting coach and then the bench coach. You might have heard of him. I know there have been other articles, particularly by Paul Semendinger regarding this topic, but I figured I would throw in my two cents worth. Don Mattingly left the Blue Jays, but he did not retire. He has expressed an interest in coaching or managing again.

Perhaps that is why the Yankees have not filled their coaching vacancies at this point. Maybe Brian Cashman knew that Mattingly would become available and wanted to bring him aboard. Perhaps, it's just a coincidence. We don't really know. Maybe it is as the late Bob Ross used to say, “a happy little accident”.

The Yankees have openings on their coaching staff. Don Mattingly, who has been involved in Major League Baseball for over forty years is available.  He was one of the greatest and most popular Yankees players of all time. He is a beloved figure in New York. He has coached or managed for many years. He managed the Dodgers and then the Marlins. He coached for the Yankees, Dodgers, and the Blue Jays. He has been lauded many times by those familiar with the Yankees in the media regarding his teaching abilities and his patience in dealing with young players.

Ideally, the Yankees should replace Aaron Boone with Mattingly right now. Aaron Boone has been the manager for eight seasons and always finds a way to come up short. Yes, I know the Yankees made it to the World Series in 2024 under Aaron Boone. They lost. They did not look good doing it either. They were noted to be fundamentally weak. That has not changed.

However, as much as many of us would like it if the Yankees replaced Boone with Mattingly, they are probably not going to do that. Hal Steinbrenner does not like to pay people to not work. Making this change is possible but not likely for the Yankees. What the Yankees could do and should do is to bring Mattingly in to replace Brad Ausmus as the bench coach. Aaron Boone might not like that but as they say in the Marines, “tough toenails.” It might help Boone to have someone like Mattingly on his bench or it might inspire him because there would be someone more than capable of taking over for him at any point, particularly if the Yankees plunge into yet another Boone-Swoon next year for which the manager does not have an answer. Mattingly could also be hired as the hitting coach, since he has filled that role before, but I think it would be better to have him as the bench coach, sitting next to Boone so that when Boone is dithering and unsure of what to do, Mattingly can tell him what to do.

I would also like to see the Yankees promote Shelley Duncan from his position as the manager in Scranton to becoming a member of the Major League coaching staff. Perhaps he could coach first base or if Luis Rojas does not return, third base. It would be good to have him on the Major League team, where he could learn and gain experience at that level.

In a perfect world, it would be wonderful to have Shelley Duncan as a member of Don Mattingly’s coaching staff but since that is probably not going to happen right now, the next best thing would be to have them both be members of the coaching staff under Aaron Boone. Until the Yankees say, “Boone Voyage”, they should do whatever they can to improve their coaching staff. Bringing in Mattingly would definitely do that. This is not a knock on Ausmus but if the Yankees have a chance to bring Don Mattingly back home with all of his knowledge and experience, they should be drawing up the contract today.