Managing the Yankees

by Ethan Levine

October 14, 2026

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Should Aaron Boone return as manager for 2027?

Whether or not you think Aaron Boone should be brought back depends on whose perspective you are taking (Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman vs. a loyal fan) and what your subsequent goals, spoken or implied, are.  

If you are the Yankees' front office and you have a tiered list of goals and at the top of that list sits, side by side, "Put a championship-caliber team on the field," and "Maximize fans in seats, concessions in stomachs, and sales in the team store," you could look at the balance sheet and the recent run of 93- and 94-win seasons and call it all a success. 

Hal Steinbrenner alleged in 2024 that Brian Cashman has said that, once you get to the playoffs, it's a crapshoot (Cashman has denied saying this).  If Hal is to be believed, then it's reasonable to say that you did indeed put a championship-caliber team together and the dice just haven't rolled your way in the last 17 years.  In such headspace, Aaron Boone should absolutely, unequivocally be retained.  

There is nothing inherently "wrong" at all with this psychology.  It is 100% valid.

On the other hand, if you are a diehard fan whose sole desire is to see the New York Yankees win a championship, then all you can do is compare Aaron Boone's tenure to past World Series-winning Yankees managers and other currently long-tenured managers around the league.   Boone just completed his 9th season at the helm and is under contract for his 10th season in 2027.  Joe Torre managed the Yankees for 12 seasons before rejecting a 1-year contract containing salary cuts and an incentive structure (he was, essentially, not offered a warm return).  He won 4 championships and was a half inning away from a 5th.  Joe Girardi managed 10 seasons and won a title during his 2nd.  His contract was not renewed after the 2017 season, a year in which he guided a team lacking sky-high expectations to Game 7 of the ALCS.

Boone is currently the 4th-longest tenured manager in Major League Baseball.  One year ahead of him sits Torey Lovullo of the Diamondbacks (who just signed a new 2-year deal with the organization).  Lovullo has essentially had the exact same peak of success as Boone: guiding his team to a World Series Game 5 before being sent home.  The fact shouldn't be lost that he is competing annually in the same division as the Dodgers.  Speaking of the Dodgers, Dave Roberts is the 2nd-longest tenured manager, and his 3 championships are hard to ignore.  Finally, the current longest-tenured manager is the man Aaron Boone just spent 3 games staring at from the dugout, Kevin Cash of the Rays.  He is wrapping up his 12th season and perpetually gets the most out of his players with, consistently, one of the lowest payrolls in the sport.   

Regardless of whether or not you lay any blame for the team's 17-year title drought at Aaron Boone's feet, a fan should ask: does a performance-based logic exist to justify why Aaron Boone should be allowed the opportunity to manage the Yankees another 3 years and, subsequently, for as long as Joe Torre did?  Boone and Kevin Cash have both won zero championships leading their respective clubs.  Should they be graded on the same scale?  

As for my own opinion, Aaron Boone (and possibly also Brian Cashman) should have been relieved of his duties following the Yankees' 82-80, playoff-less 2023 season.  Boone would have still had 1 year remaining on his contract at the time, but his 4 most recent playoff results would have been 1) lost in the ALDS, 2) lost in the Wild Card game, 3) got swept in the ALCS, and 4) no playoff appearance.  

But since we can't turn back the clock, as much as the diehard fan in me would love to see a new face in the dugout, it's not lost on me that Aaron Boone is merely the tip of the iceberg. 

Steinbrenner and Cashman have found a skipper with a personality they like, and as long as Cashman, especially, remains, the club culture is unlikely to change regardless of who else is brought in. 

As such, my final answer to, "Should Aaron Boone return as manager for 2027?" considered as the fan that I am, is, "I'm very sorry, Brian, and I'm very sorry, Aaron.  You both have been lovely to have around for so long.  But it's time for a fresh face, a fresh feel, and a fresh philosophy, both downstairs and upstairs."