Yankees: Possible replacements for Aaron Boone as manager

Melvin was a former baseball player and was on several teams in both the American and National Leagues. He briefly played first base and catcher for the Yanks in 1994.

Melvin is currently the manager of the Oakland Athletics. He has occupied that position since mid-2011 when he replaced the previous manager, Bob Geren. Before then, he managed the Arizona Diamondbacks and received the 2007 NL Manager of the Year award. Seeking to move in a new direction, the Diamondbacks fired him in the middle of the 2009 season.

Under Melvin’s outstanding leadership, the Oakland Athletics have made the playoffs six times during his nine full years as the Athletics’ skipper.

During the 2018 season, the team was picked by most analysts to finish last in the AL West. Instead, the club won 97 games and reached the wild card game to end a three-year absence from the postseason.

Melvin is now in his 11th season as manager of the Athletics and has a 767-689 record operating in a small market with limited resources. His overall record across 18 seasons managing the Seattle Mariners, Diamondbacks, and A’s is 1,271-1,203 (.514). He’ll earn $3.5 million in 2021, and has a club option on his deal for 2022.

According to A’s general manager David Forst, it’s up to Melvin to decide what he wants to do going forward. Given the team’s modest budget, it’s fairly likely that the Athletics will not be willing to offer him more money for 2022. On the contrary, he may be asked to accept a pay cut as part of the negotiations. That will likely create an opening for the Yankees to hire him if they wish to do so.

If the Yanks’ managerial position becomes open at the end of the 2021 season, Melvin would be an outstanding candidate. Given how well he has managed multiple MLB teams in smaller, one can only wonder what he could do in a place with a lot more assets and elite talent.

Like Mattingly, Paul Molitor, who will be 65 in August, was a star MLB baseball player. During his 21-year career (1978-1998), he played with the Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, and Minnesota Twins. Molitor was a seven-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger, and MVP of the 1993 World Series. He has a lifetime batting average of .306, and he’s in the Hall of Fame.

Between 2015 and 2018, he managed the Minnesota Twins. During that time, his teams compiled a 305-343 record (.471), but he was named the American League Manager of the Year in 2017.

Following the 2016 season, Molitor received a three-year extension keeping him in the Twin Cities through 2020. One year later, the Twins’ brass inexplicably decided to fire him. The club’s executives explained that they wanted the team to move in a different direction.

Those who closely follow the Twins felt it was a peculiar move, especially for a cash-strapped team. Just one year earlier, the Twins’ leadership was extolling Molitor’s virtues. There were rumors that Molitor was having trouble engaging his young stars and that this might have led to his firing.

Given Molitor’s overall record as both a player and a manager, he’s certainly worthy of becoming the next Yankees’ manager. Further exploration into exactly why the Twins fired him abruptly should be pursued, however.

Buck Showalter, who will turn 65 next month, has extensive experience managing in the big leagues. He has managed the Yankees (1992-1995), Diamondbacks (1998-2000), Texas Rangers (2003-2006), and Baltimore Orioles (2010-2018) for a grand total of 20 years. His teams compiled an overall record of 1,551-1,517 (.506).

He’s been named American League Manager of the Year three times. He received the award in 1994 (with the Yanks), 2004 (with the Rangers), and 2014 (with the Orioles). Maybe this means that Showalter is due to receive this award again in 2024! He also managed the American League All-Star team in 1995.

Showalter joined the MLB Network as a studio analyst in August 2020. He replaced former Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who was hired as the new Philadelphia Phillies skipper. He’s frequently interviewed by media sources (including the YES Network) on various aspects of the game and even the Yankees’ performance.

If the Yanks fail to play better, which we hope will not happen, Showalter should be available during the year to take over the club at any time. The All-Star break would create a convenient opening for the club to change leadership on the field if the team chooses to do so.

If not, he’ll be available in the offseason while enjoying his comfy job with MLB.

In this day and age, MLB team executives should make every effort to (and quite frankly must) evaluate and consider people of color to manage their teams. This is especially true for the Yankees. Like most MLB clubs, the Yanks boast a multi-ethnic and racial roster as well as a diverse fan base in the New York metropolitan area.

Despite plenty of such candidates having successful playing careers, only a small handful of black and Hispanic individuals in MLB are field generals. Marcus Thames, the Bombers’ current hitting coach, certainly deserves consideration, as does Hensley Meulens, if a managerial vacancy opens up.

But there’s also Carlos Mendoza, who’s just 41 years old and the team’s current bench coach. He’s begun attracting a lot of attention and recognition for his coaching effectiveness and ability to relate to today’s players. Given his easy manner and ability to speak Spanish, he could be a great manager for the Yanks.

Mendoza has been with the organization for 13 years. He was the club’s quality control and infield coach beginning in 2018 before he became the bench coach. Before that, he was a manager in the team’s minor league system.

Mendoza would certainly be a riskier pick given the notoriety of the aforementioned candidates, but he’s no stranger to the game and has a ton of familiarity with the team. He could be the younger, trendier option.

Yankees: It may be time to replace Aaron Boone as manager

New York Yankees fans and many savvy baseball analysts have begun raising the thorny question of whether it is time to replace Aaron Boone as manager.