About The Off-Season: Back To The Drawing Board

About The Off-Season: Back To The Drawing Board

By Tim Kabel

October 10, 2026

***                      

The Yankees were eliminated from the postseason on Wednesday night when they lost to the Tampa Bay Rays and were swept out of the series. The Yankees had to watch the Rays celebrate in Yankee Stadium for the second time in two weeks. For the second year in a row, they also had to endure mocking by players from the team that beat them in the Divisional round of the playoffs. 

For the ninth year in a row, Aaron Boone came up short as the Yankees manager. Aaron Boone has one year left on his contract. There is now a lot of speculation as to whether the Yankees will allow him to manage that last year or fire him. Well, enough is enough. Hal Steinbrenner should be saying right now, in the words of Popeye the Sailor, “I've had all I can stand; I can't stands no more.”

Aaron Boone has had nine tries as the Yankees manager. He is like a little kid at a birthday party repeatedly swinging at a pinata and missing. Sooner or later, somebody else needs to take a chance. The window to winning a World Series in the Aaron Judge era is closing fast. The Yankees cannot afford to waste another year of Aaron Judge's career, not to mention Gerrit Cole’s, Carlos Rodon's, and Max Fried's, enduring yet another Boone-Swoon and an endless stream of excuses from the manager as to why the team came up short. It is time to officially say Boone Voyage.

After the Yankees were eliminated, I discussed the future of the team with my friend Brian. Despite the fact that he is a Mets fan, he is extremely astute and perceptive. With a lot of input from Brian, I am proposing the following managerial and coaching changes for the 2027 Yankees.

·      Manager:

It is time to bring Don Mattingly home. Since he will most likely not be returning to the Phillies, he will be available.  Brian Cashman passed on Mattingly many years ago to hire Joe Girardi and subsequently, Aaron Boone. Since 2009, the Yankees have one World Series victory to show for that. Mattingly did a very good job managing the Phillies this year and brought them to the playoffs. With the Yankees, Mattingly would have a better team and the financial resources to bring in players that he needed. I think this would be very similar to when the Yankees brought in Joe Torre in 1996. It would allow the Yankees to return to the World Series and Mattingly to achieve the one thing that has eluded him in his career. It would also be an extremely popular move among the fans, who are extremely frustrated at this point and no longer want to hear, “It's right there in front of us.”

·       Pitching Coach:

Andy Pettitte is already on the Yankees payroll as a special advisor to Brian Cashman. I recently read that Cam Schlittler frequently contacts Pettitte during games while he is pitching. On some level, that may appear to be a slap in the face to Matt Blake. I consider it more as praise for Andy Pettitte. Other pitchers, including Will Warren, speak glowingly of Pettitte as well. He has a tremendous pedigree as a Yankee and was an amazing competitor, particularly in the postseason. I think he would work well with Mattingly and the pitching staff. He has already shown an ability to work with the pitchers. Bringing him aboard would give the staff tremendous credibility.

·       First Base Coach:

The Yankees currently have a reputation as being a very undisciplined team that is weak in fundamentals. In addition to bringing in Don Mattingly as the manager, the Yankees need a coach who can help instill some discipline and structure. Having someone who's a little bit fiery wouldn't hurt either. Therefore, I think the Yankees should bring in Jorge Posada to be the first base coach.  I don't think Posada would tolerate a player slobbering on a lollipop in the middle of a game. A lot of the nonchalance around the team would disappear with Mattingly and Posada among others, running the show.

·       Third Base Coach:

Shelley Duncan has been working in the Yankees system for years. He has been the manager in Scranton Wilkes-Barre for quite a while. During one of the radio broadcasts, Suzyn Waldman was speaking glowingly of him as “the most positive person she had ever encountered." Unlike Aaron Boone, Duncan apparently is a real communicator. Suzyn, among others, gave Duncan a lot of credit for helping Anthony Volpe adjust to his demotion to the minors and switching to second base. Volpe came back a changed player who has seemingly resurrected his career with the Yankees. He will not be the shortstop. That is now George Lombard, junior's spot, but Volpe will most likely be the starting second baseman next year. Shelley Duncan is another enthusiastic, fiery personality who will not sit idly by and watch things fall to pieces. He would be an excellent choice to be the third base coach under Mattingly.

·      Hitting Coach:

When you listen to the Yankees games on the YES network, one thing is very clear. Paul O'Neill knows hitting. He is also a tremendous disciple of Don Mattingly. Having Mattingly as the manager would in fact give the Yankees two hitting coaches and having O'Neill as the official hitting coach would really strengthen that position. O'Neill not only talks mechanics of hitting but approach as well. I think he would be a tremendous asset, particularly in working with young hitters such as Lombard, Volpe, and Spencer Jones. He is also not likely to tolerate nonsense or lackadaisical attitudes. Michael Kay may go through withdrawal, but he would still be able to see O'Neill on a regular basis. 

·       Bullpen Coach:

Once again, I will be poaching the ranks of the YES network. I think the key to having an effective bullpen coach is to have someone who actually has experience pitching in the bullpen. It is quite likely that Carlos Lagrange will play a major role in the Yankees bullpen next year. Elmer Rodriguez may do so as well. Angel Chvilli showed some flashes before being injured. Hopefully, the Yankees will bring back David Bednar as the closer. I think Dellin Betances would be an excellent choice to be the bullpen coach. He has experience. He could help Lagrange and Rodriguez in their transition to bullpen roles and based on his performance on the YES network, he is very intelligent and a very good communicator. Honestly, I think the best person for the role of a bullpen coach would have been Sparky Lyle, but Father Time has worked us against us on that one. Sparky has not been around Yankee Stadium in a long time. I would love to see him in Spring Training along with Ron Guidry. I'm sure they could teach some of the young pitchers a thing or two.

·       Outfield and Base Running Coach:

Following the theme of bringing back successful players from the past, Brett Gardner would make an excellent choice for a coach to work with the outfielders and the base runners. The Yankee showed some inclination toward stealing more bases and being better baserunners this year. However, it was sporadic, and they still continued to make base running blunders. Look at the first game against Tampa Bay and Austin Wells unsuccessfully trudging toward third base with two outs. Gardner would also fit in with the theme of discipline and fundamentals that will start with Mattingly and work its way through the coaching staff. Under Gardner’s influence, Lombard, Volpe, and Spencer Jones could have tremendous years as baserunners and base stealers. If Jasson Dominguez is still on the team, he could fit in there as well.

·      Bench Coach:

To round things out and come full circle, the Yankees need to bring Willie Randolph back into the fold as a coach. He would be an excellent bench coach for Mattingly and could also work with the infielders on their defense. As a Spring Training instructor, he took Anthony Volpe under his wing and would certainly help him with his transition to becoming the starting second baseman. I'm sure he would also work very well with George Lombard junior, and whoever will be playing third base. He has boatloads of experience as a coach and as a manager and I believe he will work extremely well with Mattingly. One other thing to note, if Ben Rice is going to play more first base next year, he could find no better mentor or instructor than Don Mattingly. Don Mattingly could also work with Luis Garcia Jr. on his defense.

There you have it. That is my proposal for the 2027 New York Yankees manager and coaching staff. I believe it is full of excellent choices. I think it would turn the Yankees from a team that has now become a laughingstock and the source of mockery by their opponents to one that is fundamentally sound and professional. I believe if the Yankees went with this coaching staff, they would have greater success than they have had under Aaron Boone and his group of coaches. I also believe that it would be unlikely for this manager and coaching staff to have a team that would be openly mocked on their own field by the opposition after they were humiliated in the Divisional Series.