New York Yankees Next Manager: Carlos Beltran, Aaron Boone Among Final Candidates

The search for the next New York Yankees’ manager is coming to an end. General manager Brian Cashman announced Friday that the team has concluded interviewing candidates to replace Joe Girardi, and he’s ready to give his recommendation to the club.

The Yankees interviewed six potential managers, all of whom spoke to the media shortly afterward. There will be no second round of interviews, and it might not be long before the rest of MLB discovers who will be leading the team in 2018.

Let’s take a look at all of the candidates.

Rob Thomson

The first person to be interviewed for the job is the only candidate that was part of the Yankees’ coaching staff in 2017. Thomson became the team’s bench coach when Girardi was hired in 2008, but his tenure with the team dates back much further than that. He’s a Yankee lifer, having been with the organization since 1990 when he became a third-base coach in the minor leagues.

Thomson has no major-league managerial experience, but the 54-year-old believes he has what the Yankees are looking for in a manager. Former Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira said Thomson would be “perfect” for the job.

“I really don’t want to compare myself to Joe. I love Joe,” Thomson said during a media session after his interview. “But I do know this. My strengths are my communication and my trust with the players, and because of that trust we can implement more things into our game, whether it be analytics or sports science, whatever it is. … I’m intense, but I’m still calm and I’m still poised.”

Eric Wedge

The second person to be interviewed by the Yankees is the only candidate with MLB managerial experience. Wedge went 561-573 as the manager of the Cleveland Indians from 2003-2009, winning the Manager of the Year award in 2007 when he came one game away from reaching the World Series. His tenure with the Seattle Mariners from 2011-2013 wasn’t as successful when the team went 213-273.

Wedge, who will be 50 years old at the start of the 2018 MLB season, has been a minor league field coordinator for the Toronto Blue Jays for the last two years.

“I'm very comfortable with young ballplayers with a lot of ability at the big-league level. I’m very passionate about the game of baseball. I'm human and resilient as well, and I think you have to have a certain level of toughness to be a big-league manager and handle everything that goes along with that,” Wedge said in his post-interview media session.

“I think you have to be firm, fair and consistent as a manager. I think that's imperative. Work through every day on an even keel basis, but understand when it's time to turn up or turn down the volume.”

Hensley Meulens

In some ways, Candidate No.3 has the ideal resume for the position. Meulens has a long history with the Yankees, and he seems to be ready for his first managerial job after being on the bench for three World Series championship teams. The 50-year-old was with New York from 1985-1993 as a player, and he’s spent the last eight years with the San Francisco Giants as a hitting coach.

Meulens spent the final month of last season as San Francisco’s bench coach. He managed the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic in both 2013 and 2017. He was rumored to be a candidate for the Detroit Tigers’ managerial position this offseason.

“Early in my interview, I was expressing how everything that was instilled in me -- especially winning and becoming a true baseball player -- I've learned here in the Yankees family,” Meulens told reporters. “I was a young player, signed at 18 years old, and was in the big leagues just after turning 22. That was pretty fast. Everything that I get associated with as a player was as a Yankee.”

Aaron Boone

The fourth person interviewed for the job is responsible for one of the most iconic moments in both Yankees and MLB history. Boone capped off his one season in New York by sending the Yankees into the 2003 World Series with an extra-inning home run against the Boston Red Sox. The injury he suffered in the next offseason is what forced the team to trade for Alex Rodriguez.

Boone has never been a coach at any level, having worked as an analyst at ESPN since he retired in 2010. He’s been around MLB his entire life as a third-generation player along with his brother, Brett.

“My job as manager would be to forge really strong relationships where these players, understand that me and my staff are going to really care about them, that they’re going to be able to trust us, and that at the end of the day, we are going to do things that are best for the Yankees,” Boone said after his interview. “Those are the three things that I really want to get across to my players. We have a chance at really impacting and getting the most out of each and every guy if those three things are prevalent in our relationship within the clubhouse.”

Chris Woodward

The Yankees made the former 12-year journeyman infielder their fifth interview. Woodward nearly won a championship in October, serving as the third-base coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the second straight season.

Woodward is probably the candidate that is most similar to A.J. Hinch and Dave Roberts, who just faced off as managers in the World Series. While never an All-Star during his career, the 41-year-old is just a few years removed from his playing days and well-versed in the analytics that now drive most major decisions in baseball.

“I think you’re a fool if you don’t understand the importance of them,” Woodward told reporters when asked about analytics. “I think it’s the next wave in baseball obviously taking hold. I think players are starting to understand that it is taking over the game, but it’s there to benefit them. It’s not there as an insult or something to take their place.

“Obviously, the players always are going to be No.1 in any organization. I think my message to them would be this is a way to gain an advantage. It’s going to make them more successful, which in turn, is going to make our team more successful.”

Carlos Beltran

He was the last person to be interviewed, but Beltran might be among the favorites to replace Girardi. After completing a borderline Hall-of-Fame career by winning his first title with the Houston Astros in October, Beltran is ready to get into managing. The nine-time All-Star signed with the Yankees in 2014 and was traded to Houston in the summer of 2016. If anyone can handle the pressure of New York, it's Beltran, who also played with the Mets from 2005-2011.

Beltran has served as a mentor of sorts to Aaron Judge, and his relationship with some of the team’s younger players could play a key role in New York’s decision.

“That was a big part of when I was with the Yankees,” Beltran told the media after his interview. “I really took it personal to try to help the younger guys and try to impact them in a positive way. It was something that was important for me to do, try to share the knowledge and the things that I have learned in the game of baseball and try to pass it on to the younger guys.

“When I signed with Houston, I saw myself basically in the same position that I was with the Yankees. A lot of younger guys around me. I was able to work with them. I felt like a coach, there's no doubt about that, because I was talking a lot. We were having a lot of conversations like player and coach conversations. It was exciting.”

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