End of a brutal Yankees season marks beginning of change for Aaron Boone and his team
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Instead of games, there are meetings on the New York Yankees’ agenda this week.
Manager Aaron Boone wasn’t sure of the exact itinerary, but he’s due to conference with owner Hal Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman while the MLB playoffs begin without them.
“We need to be playing this time of year, so that’s the first thing,’’ Boone said of his range of emotions, following the Yankees’ 5-2 loss to the Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Game 162.
The end of a brutally disappointing regular season marks the beginning of the Yankees’ audit of 2023, which includes an outside firm’s evaluations on analytics and general baseball ops.
Boone has a guaranteed year remaining on his contract but hasn’t been formally told of his status – though signs have suggested that Boone and Cashman will be retained.
The coaching staff could see some turnover; that will be an area of discussion in the coming days.
Batting coach Sean Casey on his status
Batting coach Sean Casey, the newest addition to the staff, received an endorsement from Aaron Judge. The captain also expects to be involved in meetings with Steinbrenner and Cashman about the club’s direction.
After the game, Casey said, “there’s been no decision on me, (or) on Boone. They’re about to have meetings.
“There’s been no offer, but there has been conversations,’’ Casey said of his status, adding that talks have been along the lines of “if it all went right, would you be willing to come back next year?’’
Asked if he wanted to return, Casey said: “It’s really what the Yankees are looking to do at the end of the day.
“They have a lot of decisions to make, too… talking about the whole coaching staff, players,’’ Casey said. “I’m just right now in more of a wait and see.’’
Without prior experience as a hitting coach, Casey – a .302 lifetime hitter and Boone teammate with Cincinnati – replaced Dillon Lawson, the first coach or manager dismissed in-season during Cashman’s 26-year tenure as GM.
“It was great, I really enjoyed… being back around the guys, back in the dugout,’’ said Casey. “And suiting up for the Yankees has always been a dream of mine.’’
Everything that could go wrong
Sunday’s starter Michael King is now an expected member of the 2024 rotation, said Boone, whose staff – led by Gerrit Cole’s likely Cy Young award season – was impacted by injuries and underperformance.
But the Yankees’ inability to produce runs consistently was their major downfall, and the lineup’s flaws were further exposed when Judge (torn ligament, big toe) was lost for 42 midseason games.
At age 33, Giancarlo Stanton’s worst career season - .191 batting average, .695 OPS in 101 games – was emblematic of the Yankees’ offensive shortcomings.
“There’ll be a lot of changes,’’ Stanton of his personal evaluation in “how bad the year has been.’’
Giancarlo Stanton's winter evaluation
Stanton will “take a couple of days’’ of rest before going back to work, including video examination of his at-bats from this year as well as past seasons.
“The game is about adjustments,’’ said Stanton, who feels only minor changes need to be made in his swing, “but the right ones.’’
Amid the hugs and goodbye handshakes, Boone said he was appreciative of his players’ effort and his club’s leadership in finishing with a winning record (82-80), though it wasn’t much consolation.
“We know we need to be playing this time of year and that’s ultimately the takeaway,’’ Boone said of his first postseason-less October since arriving as manager in 2018.
“That reality and disappointment certainly is upon us.’’
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Yankees season ends with questions about Aaron Boone, Brian Cashman
