Aaron Boone's lame duck return to Yankees has an MLB lockout excuse that doesn't hold water

The New York Yankees are bringing Aaron Boone back for 2027, as expected, and won't be giving him an extension, as expected. Somehow, the Bombers managed to annoy everyone. Boone haters are bummed out that he's returning and the Yankees can't figure out when to pull the plug, and Boone backers are bothered the team won't really stand behind him.

The Yankees value continuity and sending people out with whispers, not bombast. If Boone doesn't win the World Series in '27, expect his contract to simply expire. But the added wrinkle to this conversation is the looming MLB lockout, which - to be fair - does make it extremely difficult to add a new manager to the mix. There's a reason the Phillies chose to run it back with Don Mattingly, while the Mariners and Astros remain the only current teams with vacancies.

If the Yankees were to bring in a new manager, there'd be no contact with players post-Dec. 1 until the end of the lockout. Looking to instill a new culture? Well, that could be difficult when you can't meet anybody. The Yankees are going to have to try to shift their philosophy with new voices, potentially hitting coach and bench coach changes. That's going to be difficult enough. We get it.

But, as MLB insider Robert Murray said on The Baseball Insiders last week, he thinks the Yankees might've responded to the noise differently without the reality of the looming lockout. And that sets up a very difficult 2027 reality.

"When guys like Joe Girardi and CC Sabathia, who have deep ties to the organization [speak out], that speaks volumes. It increases the pressure on [Boone and Cashman]," Murray said on last Wednesday's show. "I don't think this year is going to be the year for those changes, but next year, when we don't have a lockout looming over our heads, I think the answer could be different. If we didn't have a lockout now, I think my answer also would've changed here as well. I think we could've seen a change at manager. I think we might be at that point."

MLB lockout changing Yankees' Aaron Boone plans makes sense ... but also reveals an unfortunate answer

If true, that would mean ... the Yankees have already made the opposite decision on Boone, or are at least open to the conversation of a change. But, for multiple reasons, the lockout included, they've decided to move forward with a manager they might think is inadequate, partially because the logistics don't match.

The lockout does complicate this significantly. It also gives the Yankees a ready-made excuse. If the decision would be different in a vacuum, it should probably be different in reality, too. If he's not the guy, he's not the guy.

The '27 Yankees used to be the stand-in for "baseball excellence". Now, that terminology might be redefined as "the year the Yankees chose to move on from their manager, but didn't on a technicality". There may be no better metaphor for the degrading of the Yankees brand than that. From Murderers' Row to murdering a season before it begins.

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