New York Yankees proprietor Hal Steinbrenner plans to keep Aaron Boone as his manager.
“As far as Boone’s concerned, we just signed him and for all the same reasons I listed a year ago, I believe he is a very good manager,” Steinbrenner said Wednesday as he left the Yankees’ player development complex. “I don’t see a change there.”
Boone concurred last October to a three-year deal with a team option for 2025. In his fifth season as manager, New York ran to a 61-23 record toward the beginning of July, starting correlation with the 1998 champion Yankees. In any case, hampered by wounds, the Yankees went 38-40 the rest of the way.
The Cleveland Guardians broadened the American League Division Series to five games before New York was cleared in four games by the Houston Astros in the AL Championship Series.
“We didn’t get the job done. … It’s time to get it done,” Steinbrenner said. “Any time we don’t win a championship, it’s a disappointing year. We had a lot of good ups, we had some downs, we had some injuries like everybody else.”
“But you’ve got to give it to the Astros,” Steinbrenner added. “They’re a very good team top to bottom. We just didn’t bring our A-game.”
The Yankees have not showed up in the World Series since coming out on top for their 27th championship in 2009.
New York was without table-setters DJ LeMahieu, who could require toe surgery, and Andrew Benintendi, recuperating from wrist surgery, in the postseason.
Steinbrenner declined to address the forthcoming free agency of outfielder Aaron Judge.
In the hours before opening day, Judge turned down a seven-year contract that would have paid $213.5 million from 2023 to ’29, picking rather to stay qualified for free agency after the World Series.
He set an AL standard with 62 homers, tied for the significant league lead with 131 RBIs and completed second in the AL with a .311 batting average. However, he hit only .139 with three RBIs and 15 strikeouts in the postseason, going 1-for-16 (.063) without any RBIs against the Astros.
Steinbrenner enjoyed Monday at Yankee Stadium with general manager Brian Cashman for early conversations about the upcoming offseason.
“We haven’t talked about anything yet,” Steinbrenner said. “Cash and I had some preliminary conversions.”
Cashman, the GM beginning around 1998, is completing a five-year contract.
Notwithstanding Judge, pitcher Jameson Taillon, Benintendi and utilitymen Matt Carpenter and Marwin Gonzalez are qualified with the expectation of free agency alongside relievers Chad Green, Miguel Castro, Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman.
Green (Tommy John surgery), Britton (setback following Tommy John surgery), Michael Lord (fractured elbow) and Ron Marinaccio (shin) were key relievers sidelined during the playoffs.
