Aaron Boone’s Contract Up, Yankees Manager Might Not Return For 2022 MLB Season

Significant changes could be on the way for the New York Yankees following the team’s 6-2 loss in the AL Wild-Card Game against the Boston Red Sox. Aaron Boone’s contract expires at the end of the season, and he might have managed his final game for the team Tuesday night at Fenway Park.

Boone has been the Yankees manager for four seasons, leading New York to the playoffs each year. The Yankees have no World Series appearances under Boone, and this marks the first time during his tenure that the team didn’t reach the ALDS.

“Obviously, my contract is up and I haven’t had any conversations with anyone about that, so we’ll see,” Boone told reporters Tuesday night. “I love being here. I love going to work with this group and love going to work with this group of players. We’ll see.”

The Yankees trailed the Red Sox in all nine innings Tuesday as ace Gerrit Cole was unable to make it out of the third inning. New York blew the chance to host the Wild-Card Game by losing its final series of the regular season at Yankee Stadium against the Tampa Bay Rays.

For much of the 2021 season, there has been speculation that Boone might not return in 2022. Boone’s handling of the pitching staff and lineup choices have been questionable at times, especially during a largely disappointing two-year stretch.

Aaron Boone hasn’t won a WS in his first four years as Yankees manager. The last time a Yankees manager was allowed to manage a fifth year without having already won a ring was in 1922.
— Joe Giglio (@JoeGiglioSports) October 6, 2021

Aaron Boone is 5th alltime with a .601 lifetime win percentage among managers with 450 games (276 managers). Yankees managers are also judged by the postseason but that’s better than Bobby Cox, Earl Weaver, Sparky Anderson (everyone but Dave Roberts, Joe McCarthy and 2 others)
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 6, 2021

The Yankees failed to live up to expectations as the favorites in the American League, finishing eight games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East despite owning a payroll nearly three times the size of the Rays.

Bitter rival Boston has eliminated New York from the playoffs in two of Boone’s four seasons as Yankees manager. The Yankees have one trip to the ALCS under Boone.

“The league has closed the gap on us,” Boone said. “We’ve got to get better in every aspect. Because it's not just the Red Sox and the Astros now in our league. Look at our division, the Rays are a beast, Toronto, there’s some teams in the Central that are better and better, teams in the West that are better and better, teams that have closed the gap on us.”

In reality, there has been no gap between the Yankees and the American League’s best teams for over a decade. New York hasn’t won the AL pennant since winning the championship in 2009.