Yankees: 5 potential managerial replacements for Aaron Boone
The New York Yankees made it to the ALCS but it was still not a good season for them after their tumble in the second half of the regular season and not even getting to the World Series, let alone winning it.
There is a lot of blame to go around, but one of the biggest people to blame is their manager Aaron Boone. Boone could easily be fired in the coming days or weeks after another disappointing end to the Yankees season.
If he is let go, here are five potential managerial replacements for Aaron Boone.
Yankees: 5 potential replacements for Aaron Boone
1) Joe Girardi
Wouldn’t it be prophetic if the Yankees replaced Aaron Boone with the guy that Boone replaced himself?
Girardi is no longer managing the Phillies after they fired him during the middle of this season. His bench coach and former Yankees coach Rob Thomson has since led them to their first World Series berth since 2009, when the Yankees defeated the Phillies.
That’s not something that looks good on Girardi but he is, undoubtedly, better than Boone. He brings managerial experience and a familiarity to the Yankees, especially if they fire Boone and don’t change their front office.
The Yankees really need somebody who has some experience managing and, perhaps, Girardi would be the right guy to return.
2) Mike Scioscia
Mike Scioscia would be one of the more conservative options for the Yankees to manage, but he might be a great option.
Scioscia, who turns 64 in November, managed the Los Angeles Angels from 2000 through 2018. He made it to the postseason seven times as their manager, including winning the World Series in 2002. He has managed since as he managed Team USA in 2020 Olympics when they were played in 2021.
Scioscia is a native of the Philadelphia area so he is relatively close to New York and he obviously has the experience and he also has managed in a big market, which is key.
3) Joe Maddon
Joe Maddon was relieved of his duties managing the Angels this season as well after a big losing skid. However, he still has what it takes to manage a team like the Yankees.
Maddon, who turns 69 in February, would be one of the oldest managers in the game. However, in his 17 full seasons of managing, his teams have made the postseason eight times. From 2008 through 2019 (managing Tampa Bay and the Cubs), his teams averaged 92 wins per season and made it to the World Series twice, including winning it in 2016 with the Cubs.
Things didn’t work out with the Angels but after Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, the Angels had virtually no talent on their rosters.
4) Don Mattingly
Don Mattingly isn’t getting any younger but of the available managers, he might know New York and the Yankees even more than Joe Girardi.
Mattingly, who turns 62 in April, played for the Yankees in the majors from 1982 through 1995. He coached for them from 2004 through 2007 before he went to the Dodgers with former Yankees manager Joe Torre. Mattingly succeeded Torre in 2011 before he went to Miami to manage the Marlins before the 2016 season.
Given how little he was given in Miami, it was amazing that they got to the playoffs in 2020 but otherwise, they really struggled in 2019, 2021, and 2022.
He resigned from his managerial job with the Marlins after this season, so it’s unknown whether or not if he would want to manage again. If he does, he would likely be willing to come back to the Yankees and try to bring them a World Series title.
5) Mike Shildt
Of the five former managers on our list, Mike Shildt is the youngest as he is 54 years old.
Shildt was the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals for parts of four seasons from 2018 through 2021. In his first full season managing the Cardinals in 2019, he won the NL Manager of the Year Award.
In each of his three full seasons with the Cardinals, the club made it to the playoffs and Shildt received NL Manager of the Year Award votes. In addition to winning in 2019, he was a finalist in 2021.
However, after the 2021 season, the Cardinals fired Shildt due to “philosophical differences.” The Padres then hired him as a coach for the 2022 season.
He has expressed an interest in managing again and he has the best track record of all of the managers on this list, despite being the youngest and the manager with the least amount of experience on this list.