MLB Rumors: Aaron Boone to return as Yankees manager in 2025 after World Series loss | News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

The New York Yankees are expected to exercise their option on manager Aaron Boone's contract and bring him back next season.

SNY's Andy Martino scored the win after the Yankees lost 7-6 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series, cementing the National League champions' five-game Fall Classic win.

“As a result, Boone is expected to serve as manager again in 2025, regardless of how the World Series goes, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the team’s thinking,” Martino wrote. “That would have been the case even if the Yankees had been defeated.

“The Yankees have an option on Boone for next season. To avoid a lame-duck year, it would be logical to follow up the pennant-winning season with a contract extension.”

Boone has been the Yankees' manager since 2018. He led the Yankees to six playoff appearances, three AL East titles and an AL pennant.

The Yankees have largely fared well in the regular season under Boone, with the team posting winning seasons each year. New York, in particular, hasn't had a losing season since 1992.

But playoff success largely eluded the Yankees until this season. Overall, New York is just 22-23 in the postseason with Boone as coach.

Expectations were high this year as the Yankees finished in first place in the American League playoffs. According to Martino, “the word around the Yankees was that the team needed to win at least one round, probably two, for manager Aaron Boone to keep his job.”

New York accomplished this by defeating the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians and advancing to the World Series. The Yankees also reached the Fall Classic with relative ease for the first time since 2009, winning seven of nine games.

The World Series, however, was a bitter disappointment. A mix of sloppy defense, faltering relief pitching, baserunning errors and idle hitting ultimately led to the Yankees losing in five games.

Additionally, Boone's decision to bring in Nestor Cortes, who had not played since September 18 due to an elbow strain, in Game 1 proved costly. Cortes gave up a game-ending grand slam to eventual World Series MVP Freddie Freeman, turning a potential 3-2 win into a 6-3 loss in 10 innings.

If you're wondering whether Yankees leadership felt this decision was grounds for a cut, that was reportedly not the case, according to Martino.

“Sometimes outside noise enters Yankee offices and influences decisions, and in this case the volume was high.

“But we checked: Yankees executives viewed Boone's request for Cortes not as a mistake, but as a close call that could have gone either way. If some people in the building had left Luke Weaver in the game (as Boone suggested, he could). or turned to left wing specialist Tim Hill, Boone's bosses understood the solid reasons for Cortes' move.

“In other words, in the eyes of the people who made this decision, it was a million miles from a criminal offense.”

Boone has certainly been a lightning rod for criticism at times, and the team's lack of success in October follows suit. Ultimately, however, there was little to no doubt that he would be brought back if the team reached the World Series, something the team had not yet accomplished during his tenure. Parting ways with him now would send a strange message when the Yankees could have let him go after less successful years, namely the 82-80 season in 2023.

So the Yanks will head into 2025 with Boone at the helm, perhaps with an extension in tow. The biggest question is whether the team can re-sign superstar Juan Soto, an impending free agent.

But other thoughts also arise, namely how this team can clean up the sloppy defense and poor baserunning that have plagued this team all season, the former ultimately giving the Yanks a fifth game and a chance at a miraculous 3-0 comeback in the World Series. It's apparently up to Boone to help figure this out.