What the Yankees Must Do to Save Aaron Boone’s Job

Getty Yankees manager Aaron Boone

In New York, the standards are different. Aaron Boone is in his seventh season managing the Yankees and, as of August 8, has a .586 winning percentage with five playoff appearances and two American League East titles.

But Jon Heyman of the New York Post thinks Boone is on the hot seat.

The 27-time World Series champion and 40-time American League champion Yankees have lost twice in the ALCS on his watch and two more times in the playoffs to their hated rival Boston Red Sox. They haven’t reached the World Series since 2009, the year of their last title.

For most other teams, their last seven years would be an extraordinary run of success. Yankees fans, however, have been fed up for a while, marking a stark contrast between them and Yankees ownership.

“I think [Boone is] beloved by Hal Steinbrenner, the owner, I think he’s beloved by the general manager Brian Cashman, and I think they desperately want to keep him around,” Heyman said on an appearance on Bleacher Report Walk-Off. “But if they’re knocked out in the first round, it’s going to be pretty tough. So, I would say that’s a pretty warm seat for Aaron Boone.”

Aaron Boone and the Yankees Are Back on Track

For a while, the 2024 Yankees season eerily mirrored their disappointing 2022 campaign. Both seasons, they got off to a hot start only to stumble around the All-Star break and lose all momentum. In 2022, their 56-21 start gave them enough of a cushion in the AL East to give them a division title, despite them going 43-42 the rest of the way. This year, they started 50-23 before losing 19 of their next 28.

Their 2.5-game AL East lead became a 2.5 game deficit behind the Orioles as their division rivals failed to capitalize entirely on the team’s horrid stretch.

They’re back on track now, winning nine of their last 14 and facing one of the easiest schedules in the American League the rest of the way.

More importantly, they’re getting offensive production from players outside of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been a revelation since the Yankees traded for him before the deadline, while Alex Verdugo has bounced back from his massive slump (.296 in his past 10 games) and Austin Wells has torn the cover off the ball hitting behind Judge (.383 in his past 12 games).

“I like Aaron Boone, he’s a terrific guy, his winning percentage is incredible,” Heyman added. “I would say at this point — and again this is me projecting, guessing — I think they have to get in the playoffs, first of all, which it does appear they’ve straightened things out or he’s helped straighten things out and they’re getting in, and they have to win at least a round.”

Can the Yankees Advance in the Postseason?

Headed into play on August 8, the Yankees are tied with the Orioles for the best record in the American League. With a forgiving schedule moving forward, let’s assume the Bombers finish the season atop the AL standings. That would give them a first-round bye and put them in position to face the winner of the 4 vs. 5 opening round series.

As of now, that would be the Orioles or the Twins. The Yankees are 4-6 against the O’s this season and, well, when they play the Twins in the postseason, they don’t lose (16-2 vs. Minnesota in the postseason since 2003 with 10 straight wins).

It helps that there seems to be no truly elite team in the American League. The Yankees, like everyone else, have their flaws. The starting pitching has potential behind a Gerrit Cole–Luis Gil 1-2 punch, but Nestor Cortes, Carlos Rodon, and Marcus Stroman have all been inconsistent. Clarke Schmidt should be back soon, but there’s no guarantee how effective he will be.

The bullpen has promise as well. Clay Holmes was electric against the Angels on Wednesday but has been frighteningly inconsistent. They made two moves for strikeout pitchers at the deadline in Mark Leiter Jr. and Enyel De Los Santos, but neither has been a lockdown pitcher this year.

The potential is there for the Yankees to make a deep October run. Boone’s job might depend on finding the right formula to make it happen.