Aaron Boone is happy to be back as the Yankees‘ manager, contract extension or not.
Three days after the Yankees picked up his club option for the 2025 season, Boone said he and the organization are not currently having discussions about extending his deal beyond next year amid a busy start to the offseason.
“A lot’s gone on after the season throughout the organization,” Boone said Monday during a Zoom call with reporters. “Contracts being up. There’s a lot of work to do that you don’t necessarily get to attend to when you’re going through the playoffs and the World Series.
“I know there’s a lot of loose ends to tie up organizationally, so we’ll see what unfolds. But either way, I’m prepared and ready to go and excited for 2025.”
Through seven seasons as the Yankees’ manager, Boone, 51, boasts a 603-429 record, three American League East titles and six trips to the playoffs. He has averaged 95 wins per year in his six non-COVID-shortened seasons.
This year marked Boone’s first time leading the Yankees to the World Series as their manager, losing in five games to the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was the Yankees’ first World Series berth since 2009.
Boone said Monday that he entered the offseason without any expectation about his return, and he acknowledged he would be OK managing the 2025 season without a multi-year contract.
“Yeah, I mean, here I am,” Boone said. “The reality is there’s tons of people going to work every single day with that existence where it’s year to year. We just had a season where I had that realization this year, that reality this year.
“We were overall able to put together a strong season and get to the World Series, but the reality is this is the existence of a lot of people, not only in baseball, but in life in general.”
After the Yankees exercised the option, general manager Brian Cashman described Boone in a statement as a “steadying presence in our clubhouse” and “one of the game’s finest managers.”
Bringing back Boone helped begin a pivotal offseason for the Yankees, whose other focuses include trying to re-sign superstar slugger Juan Soto, now a free agent, to what would likely be a historic contract in what’s expected to be an ultra-competitive market.
The Yankees also reached a resolution last week with ace Gerrit Cole, who opted out of the final four years and $144 million of his contract, only to agree to return on those same terms.
Following the Yankees’ season-ending defeat in Game 5 of the World Series, Cole was among the prominent players to speak highly of Boone, as were Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.
“Once you get to the playoffs, you’re just kind of grinding through that every day,” Boone said Monday. “That’s where the focus went. … We’ll see if there’s any more dialogue that goes on as far as … an extension. We’ll see in that regard. But regardless, I’m excited to be back and excited to get to lead this crew again.”
