Yankees fans already dreading 2026 after Aaron Boone's post-elimination comments

The New York Yankees went down without a fight on Wednesday night. They lost Game 4 of the ALDS and were eliminated from the postseason by the division-rival Toronto Blue Jays. They took their incredible momentum from Game 3 and flushed it away, failing to show up on offense and dropping the ball in key moments. It's been an all-too-familiar theme with this team under manager Aaron Boone.

But you can bet he'll be back for 2026. Any fans who were expecting otherwise were either dreaming or not reading between the lines. Boone will never be fired by the Yankees. He will "move on" when the time comes, and that time will be when his contract ends — if it ever does.

Boone is here through 2027. There's at least two more years of this, and the manager's comments after the team's season-ending defeat all but confirmed the dreadful reality for 2026.

Aaron Boone Contract: Yankees fans better prepare for the harsh reality

Because that's just the way the Hal Steinbrenner Yankees do business. You're under contract? You're here. You're under contract and one of the worst performers in the league? You will overstay your welcome by at least two years before we kick you to the curb (see Aaron Hicks, DJ LeMahieu, etc.).

The Yankees do not care about results. They care about consistency. For years they have been telling fans they believe in Boone and that they're building a lineup that will "go on a run" and overwhelm their opponents in October. But Boone has only given fans fewer reasons to believe with how his team is prepared for the biggest moments. His decision making has not inspired confidence when the Yankees' backs are against the wall. And that lineup? That lineup has not went on a run — not ONCE — since 2018. If you want to count the 2024 postseason, then that's your prerogative, but they did not win a singular blowout with the exception of Game 4 of the World Series when they were down three games to zero. The run production was there against inferior AL Central opponents, but they didn't make it easy. Almost every ALDS and ALCS game was a nail-biter. The offense did not level up against a superior or equal opponent. In fact, from 2018-2025, when they faced a "better" opponent, they got ran off the field.

But don't worry, folks. They will break through in Year 9 with a completely different roster when the offseason purge begins in three weeks.

Now, was Boone to blame in this series? Not directly, at least. We don't know what goes on behind closed doors. But he did not make a World Series Game 1-esque gaffe like removing Gerrit Cole too early. There's nothing to "pin" on him for this specific early elimination.

But what we can pin on him is the continued efforts that fall short. This roster has looked completely different year over year since 2018. The results have not changed. The one time he triumphed in the American League, he had Aaron Judge and Juan Soto hitting back-to-back and Giancarlo Stanton on an historic postseason heater. And even then he couldn't win it all.

Boone is not to blame for the Yankees' most glaring issues. But he is not additive. He's a figurehead who will lose to a manager with more experience and gumption. And until the Yankees realize that's their fate, they will live through the same disheartening results over and over again.