Getty Aaron Boone
From the Chicago Cubs making Craig Counsell the highest-paid manager in MLB history to Joe Espada taking over the Houston Astros from three-time NL Manager of the Year Dusty Baker, this winter has seen a range of teams hire new managers before the 2024 season. In fact, the Cubs, Astros, Cleveland Guardians, Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, and San Francisco Giants will all be starting this season with new skippers.
Still, many teams have decided to stick with the managers they had in 2023, despite varying levels of success. So with Opening Day just around the corner on March 28, which MLB managers are on the hot seat to start 2024?
Is it Time for the Yankees to Fire Aaron Boone?
The 2024 season will be Aaron Boone’s seventh with the New York Yankees, and to say that all eyes will be on him this year would be quite the understatement. Last year, the Yankees finished the regular season with an underwhelming 82-80 record — the team’s worst since 1992 — and it’s now been 14 years since New York won an AL pennant.
Boone took over as manager of the Yankees in 2018, and to his credit, the team has advanced to the playoffs in five out of the six seasons that he’s been at the helm. Still, the Yankees are a very expensive franchise with a very demanding fan base, and when it comes to New York, just appearing in the postseason doesn’t quite cut it.
This offseason, the Yankees have made moves to retool their roster for a more successful 2024, and while depth still looks like it could be an issue for their starting rotation, perhaps this year will see New York return to the World Series. However, if the team is again plagued by underperformance, it’s not looking good for Boone.
Will A.J. Hinch Be the First to Go?
The Detroit Tigers finished the 2023 season second in the AL Central, but that was far more a reflection of the division’s overall underperformance than the team’s strength. A.J. Hinch joined Detroit before the 2021 season, and after finishing his first season with a record of 77-85 and 2022 with 66-96, the Tigers’ 78-84 record in 2023 rounded out a less-than-inspiring first three years as manager.
Going into 2024, the Tigers have a lot of potential. Kerry Carpenter was a breakout star last season, and despite a recent mild hamstring strain at spring training setting him back, he’s looking to be ready for Opening Day. In only his second season in the majors, Riley Greene batted .288/.349/.447 with 11 home runs and 37 RBI in 99 games last year, so if he can keep up that momentum, he’s staring down All-Star selection. Across the board, the 2024 Tigers have a lot of solid pieces that could come together for a very successful season — but only if the team is well-managed.
If there isn’t a marked improvement in the Tigers’ performance this year, it’ll be hard for the higher-ups to justify keeping Hinch in charge.
Oliver Marmol Has a Lot to Prove in 2024
There are few teams that had a more disappointing 2023 season than the St. Louis Cardinals. In his second year as manager, Oliver Marmol led the Cardinals to finish fifth in the NL Central with an underwhelming record of 71-91, which was a sharp decline from the team’s division-winning 93-69 record in 2022.
There’s no denying that the Cardinals were flailing in 2023, and this offseason, the team quickly got to work. They signed three starting pitchers — Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson, and Sonny Gray — before the end of November, and in January, they added designated hitter Matt Carpenter to the roster. So far in February, they’ve signed reliever Keynan Middleton and three-time All-Star shortstop Brandon Crawford.
All the pieces are there for the Cardinals to make a comeback in 2024, and if they don’t, something will have to give. Without a big improvement from last year, Marmol may be looking for a new job.