The Tuesday Discussion: The Next Manager?

August 5, 2025

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We made it simple this week asking our writers for just the name (some gave longer answers) of who the next manager of the Yankees should be.

Here was the question: "If you could pick any available serious candidate to be the Yankees manager the rest of the way in 2025, who would it be?"

Here are their replies...

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Derek McAdam - Brad Ausmus would probably be the best bet since he’s currently on the Yankee squad and has past managerial experience. 

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Ethan Semendinger - Joe Maddon

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Tim Kabel - Shelley Duncan

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Ed Botti - Joe Maddon would be my choice.

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Paul Semendinger - Joe Maddon

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Andy Singer - Shelley Duncan and Brad Ausmus are the only real choices that could of the job with the guys in the room on short notice. I'm not a real fan of Brad Ausmus, so I'd go with Shelley Duncan, as I've written for years. Duncan is everything you could want in a modern manager - smart, understands analytics, has an old school background, has a history of developing guys on their way to the majors, and has spent time in big league dugouts as both a player and coach. Duncan is clearly the guy.

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Mike Whiteman - If I'm looking for a replacement for Aaron Boone, I'm turning to Joe Girardi, who I think was wrongly dismissed after the 2017 season. 

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Andrew Hefner - Jorge Posada 

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Cary Greene - There are many voices of Yankees sharpies here on SSTN who have viewpoints regarding whether or not the real problems with the Yankees run much deeper than who the Yankees manager is. Some point to Hal Steinbrenner himself as being the real problem with how the Yankees are run. Others blame it on GM Brian Cahsman and other opinions blame Yankee analytics Vice President, Assistant General Manager and head of Analytics Michael Fishman. Still others cite systemic organization issues like poor coaching, poor medical staff performance and some even think the hot dog vendors at Yankee stadium are the real ones to blame for the Yankees fall from grace this season.  

Assuming the Yankees want to make a change, which they clearly don't want to do, an in-season change would be most welcome and a promotion from within would send a message that would resonate not only throughout the entire Yankees system, but through MLB itself! No longer would lackadaisical fielding and baserunning be tolerated. Therefore, either Nick Ortiz or (gulp) Aaron Bossi should be promoted as the interim manager of the Yankees, while Aaron Boone should be given the rest of the season off - with an offer to return to the broadcasting booth to be made from an entity who still covers MLB to be made next season. Neither of my suggestions are world beaters, but each are managing winning teams at the lower levels of the Yankees system and when change is needed, I learned long ago to pick a winner for the job. Since Shelley Duncan doesn't deserve the nod, it's time for Cashman to pick someone who does and both Ortiz and Bossi have been succeeding this season, with their respective ball clubs. 

This type of move would need to come from the top down and we all know neither Steinbrenner or Cashman would ever do such a thing, for both of them overvalue the way Boone handles the New York media. They also no doubt appreciate his willingness to do whatever they tell him to do, without question. That written, if I were making the decision, I'd be hopeful that a big change, while stressing a back to basics approach, could do the Yankees good. 

Show me a manager who can teach Aaron Judge & Co. to catch the ball with two hands and who can teach Austin Wells and Jazz Chisholm to pay attention to how many outs there are in an inning and I'll give you this season's interim Yankees manager. Clearly, Aaron Boone doesn't deserve the privilege to continue as the Yankees manager, but try telling Brian Cashman that, much less Hal Steinbrenner. The Yankees lost the World Series last season for the same reasons that their play this season has made them laughing stocks league wide. Something clearly needs to change. 

Ultimately, this offseason, I think the preferred targets to acquire as Manager of the Yankees are either a proven professional like Rays manager Kevin Cash or a Yankee legend like Derek Jeter. David Cone deserves a shot to be a pitching coach and John Flaherty could probably run circles around Boone in the dugout as well. Cashman and Fishman need to back off and let the new manager assert himself also. If hired, the new manager next season should be granted carte blanche powers to run the team accordingly, making any game related decisions and they should also get to hire their own staff. 

Moves I would not like to see made at this juncture in the season, would be to bring in an experienced manager from the outside - that's not what this team needs. I hate to write this, but what this group of Yankees needs is for a fundamentals-first coach from the lower levels of the system to implement Low-A or High-A type coaching immediately. This approach is pretty much the only way to save the season. Forget the Joe Maddon Buck Showalter types and all the others - they're not fit for the job and they'd only make things worse. Also, leaving Boone in the manager's role this season is a recipe for complete and utter disappointment. He's not capable of winning a World Series and he's already done a fantastic job of proving this. True Yankees fans all know this. 

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Image from Microsoft Copilot