Yankees Rumors: Momentum building for Aaron Boone's return in 2024?

If Aaron Boone wants to lay down the law and establish dominance in a Yankees locker room that accepts defeat far too often, then he should probably stop being photographed by Getty Images with a massive bubble in his mouth. But that's just what I think.

A few weeks ago, even before Brian Cashman took to the podium, called the season he created a "disaster," and stated that everyone's job (including his) would be evaluated, it seemed likely that Boone would be this flailing team's next scapegoat.

Unlike the firing of Dillon Lawson, which barely moved the needle, the dismissal of Boone with one year left on his contract would at least partially mollify this aggrieved fanbase. Sure, if Boone were dismissed, the entirety of the crowd's heat would then turn on Cashman, but it seemed impossible to believe the GM wouldn't make a move of some kind after an under-.500 disaster such as this.

Well ... think again? Because SNY's Andy Martino now believes Boone has Cashman's backing, with a high-ranking official in the Yankees front office recently saying, “Boone is an asset, not part of the problem." If he were to be fired, it would be because Hal Steinbrenner listened to Cashman's recommendation and ignored it, which nearly never happens.

If you don't want to read into Martino's cryptic messaging, it might be worth listening to Talkin' Jake, one half of the Jomboy podcast duo that speaks with Boone weekly. His inkling of the tides turning is probably correct.

Yankees firing Aaron Boone would be "unprecedented," per Andy Martino

Well, it's about time to cook up some of that there precedent, then! What are we waiting for, re: the precedent?!?

Aaron Boone has never been the problem with this Yankees team. The mounting cost of a festering roster is more to blame for this season's malfeasance. Besides, Boone certainly was a value add in 2019, when he steered an injury-mangled ship to 103 wins.

That said, the 2023 Yankees wilted midway through the season. A keen observer/expert on quitting might even use the Q Word. Anthony Volpe outright said that he and his teammates were struggling to have fun playing the game, and it showed from June onward. When a team's compete level is this low, the magnifying glass that's been turned on the manager makes every "feel for the game" blunder and bullpen gaffe feel like 100. The time has come for this management group to try someone else's touch and, if that fails (it likely will), it's time for them to turn their focus on themselves.

But, for now, it feels far likelier that the infrastructure stays the way it is entering 2024, to the rest of the league's great joy.