MLB Rumors: Aaron Boone to Return as Yankees Manager in 2025 After World Series Loss | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

The expectation is that the New York Yankees will pick up their option on manager Aaron Boone’s contract and bring him back next season.

SNY’s Andy Martino provided the scoop after the Yankees fell 7-6 in Game 5 of the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers, cementing the National League champion’s Fall Classic victory in five games.

“As such, Boone is expected back as manager in 2025 despite how the World Series went, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the team’s thinking,” Martino wrote. “That would have been the case even if the Yankees had been swept.

“The Yankees have an option on Boone for next season. To avoid a boring year, it would make sense to follow the pennant-winning season with a contract extension.”

Boone has been the Yankees’ manager since 2018. He led the Yankees to six playoff appearances, three AL East titles and one AL pennant.

The Yankees have largely done well in the regular season under Boone, with the team posting winning seasons every year. New York hasn’t had a losing season since 1992.

But playoff success has largely eluded the Yankees until this season. Overall, New York is just 22-23 in the postseason with Boone as manager.

Expectations were high this year, with the Yankees holding the No. 1 seed in the American League playoffs. According to Martino, “the rumor around the Yankees was that the team had to win at least one round, and probably two, for manager Aaron Boone to keep his job.”

New York did that by defeating the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians to reach the World Series. The Yankees also reached the Fall Classic with relative ease for the first time since 2009, winning seven of nine games.

However, the World Series was a bitter disappointment. A mix of sloppy defense, faltering relief pitching, baserunning errors and sluggish hitting ultimately led to the Yankees losing in five minutes.

Additionally, Boone’s decision to take Nestor Cortes, who had not pitched since September 18 due to an elbow flexor strain, in Game 1 proved costly. Cortes ultimately gave up a game-ending grand slam to eventual World Series MVP Freddie Freeman, turning a potential 3-2 win into a 6-3 loss in 10 innings.

If you’re wondering if the Yankees brass thought that decision was grounds for a cut, that’s reportedly not the case, according to Martino.

“Sometimes external noise infiltrates the Yankee offices and influences decisions, and the volume on this one was loud.

But we checked: The Yankees brass didn’t view Boone’s call for Cortes as a blunder, but as a close call that could have gone either way. If some people in the building had left Luke Weaver in the game (like Boone suggested he might have), or called on left-wing specialist Tim Hill, Boone’s bosses understood the solid rationale behind Cortes’ move.

“In other words, it was a million miles away from a fireable offense, in the eyes of the people who made that decision.”

Boone has certainly been a lightning rod for criticism at times, and the team’s lack of success in October comes back to haunt him. But ultimately, there was little to no doubt that he would be brought back if the team made it to the World Series, something the team had not accomplished under his tenure. Saying goodbye to him now would be a strange message, when the Yankees could have let him go after less successful years, namely the 82-80 season in 2023.

So the Yanks will enter 2025 with Boone leading the way, perhaps with an extension in tow. The biggest question is whether the team can re-sign superstar Juan Soto, an impending free agent.

But other thoughts emerge, namely how this team can clean up the sloppy defense and poor baserunning that has dogged this team all season, the former ultimately costing the Yanks Game 5 and a chance at a miraculous 3-0 comeback in the World Series. Apparently it’s up to Boone to find out.