The Yankees made the decision to bring manager Aaron Boone back for a tenth season. Boone, who’ll become the seventh skipper in franchise history to reach a decade with the club, is under contract via the two-year extension he signed in February 2025.
Owner Hal Steinbrenner told reporters on Wednesday that there’d not yet been any conversations with Boone regarding another extension (link via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). While that doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t discuss that at some point, Boone said that managing on an expiring deal “doesn’t bother (him) at all.” He pointed out that players and coaches frequently work without long-term contractual certainty, though many teams prefer not to have their managers or top front office executive in a lame duck capacity.
The Yankees allowed general manager Brian Cashman to hold his position on an expiring deal in 2026. The GM himself announced Wednesday that he and the team were finalizing an extension, one that’ll likely ensure that Cashman reaches three decades in the GM role. He’s already by far the longest-tenured active general manager, having ascended to the job in February 1998.
Pitching coach Matt Blake is also expected back, no surprise given how well the Yankees have fared in that area in recent seasons. Steinbrenner was less committal on the offensive side on Wednesday, replying to a question about hitting coach James Rowson’s status by saying the team still needed to discuss all coaching decisions. “I’m definitely focused on the offense and on the hitting,” Steinbrenner told reporters (link via ESPN’s Jorge Castillo). “I think it was a big part of, certainly a significant, part of why we didn’t achieve what we wanted to achieve.”
The offense folded once Aaron Judge went on the injured list at the beginning of June. The Yankees were 24th in scoring after that point. Over the final four months of the season, only the Reds had a lower batting average. New York’s .297 on-base percentage in that stretch was the worst in the majors.
Judge missed most of the season to a rib fracture. He came back in early September but looked rusty over two weeks before suffering a right calf strain that ultimately wound up ending his season. Cashman said that Judge would go for follow-up testing on the rib but is expected to be ready for the start of Spring Training (relayed by Gary Phillips of The New York Daily News).
Regardless of the coaching decisions, New York’s offense should look quite a bit different next season. Trent Grisham and Jazz Chisholm Jr. are both impending free agents and seem unlikely to return. They’ll also need to decide whether to retain Giancarlo Stanton and if they’ll upgrade over either Ryan McMahon or Austin Wells at third base and catcher, respectively.
The infield should be a particular focus, especially how they’ll replace Chisholm at the keystone. Anthony Volpe and José Caballero project as the top internal options, presuming the Yankees turn the shortstop job to George Lombard Jr. It’s a decent free agent second base class with Brandon Lowe and Luis Arraez joining Chisholm and Gleyber Torres on the market. The Yanks could also turn to the trade front, where Ketel Marte and Xavier Edwards are possibilities.
Edwards has reportedly been a Yankee target in the past. Joel Sherman of The New York Post notes that the Yankees have also had previous interest in Kansas City second baseman Michael Massey. The 28-year-old is coming off a solid .274/.305/.430 season with 13 home runs for the Royals. He’s had an up and down career and had a dismal 2025 campaign around an ankle sprain, but Massey puts the ball in play with average power. He’s a lefty batter who hits a lot of pulled fly balls, a swing that’d have some appeal at Yankee Stadium. Massey’s low walk rates wouldn’t help the Yankees’ on-base concerns, but he’s a strong defender with a decent hit/power combination.
The Royals are coming off a terrible season but unlikely to rebuild. Massey, who’s controllable for two seasons and projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $3.2MM arbitration salary, is a decent role player who’s currently their primary second baseman. He’s not the kind of player teams are going to consider untouchable, yet it stands to reason K.C. would want major league pitching or outfield help in any return.
