4 replacements for Aaron Boone as Yankees manager if predicted firing occurs

Raul Ibañez

It's going to be difficult to convince Raul Ibañez to leave his cushy job as Senior Vice President of On-Field Operations for MLB, but if the league (and the person) are both willing to listen, the Yankees should make overtures.

Who knows? Maybe they're able to steal one of Ibañez's coworkers, Theo Epstein, as well.

Ibañez's post-playing career has featured a number of different hats. He served under Andrew Friedman in the Dodgers' front office as a "special assistant" in 2016. He was a part-time ESPN analyst. He's overseen umpiring, discipline, and special issues with the league office since 2021 in a senior role. Perhaps most importantly for this process, he was one of the Tampa Bay Rays' three finalists in their 2014 managerial search before he'd even officially retired.

Ultimately, the Rays went with Kevin Cash and Ibañez ascended elsewhere, but that sliding doors moment could eventually pay off for the Yankees.

Ibañez is beloved by the league, still in tune with the Yankees' concerns (he made some interesting statements this offseason about keeping Aaron Judge fresh through the end of his contract), and recently got back in the dugout, managing a team of youngsters in the All-Star Futures Game in Seattle.

That was ceremonial, of course, but if he still has the itch that drove him to that Rays interview, the Yankees have to tempt him.