Yankees exercise Aaron Boone’s option, making manager’s return official

Aaron Boone is officially back.

The Yankees exercised the manager’s 2025 club option on Friday morning, an expected move after Boone took the team to the World Series for the first time as skipper this past season. The 2025 campaign will mark the 51-year-old’s eighth season at the helm.

“I am grateful for the trust placed in me to lead this team. It’s a responsibility — and an opportunity — that I will never take lightly,” Boone, who famously hit a walk-off homer for the Yankees in the 2003 ALCS, said in a statement. “It’s a great privilege to show up for work every day and be surrounded by so many determined and talented players, coaches and staff members. Starting with Steinbrenner family, there is a collective commitment to excellence within this organization that is embedded in all that we do. I’m already looking forward to reporting for spring training in Tampa and working tirelessly to return the Yankees to the postseason to compete for a World Championship.”

Earlier this week, Brian Cashman gave Boone a vote of confidence with the Yankees still waiting to announce a decision on his future. The general manager noted that the team could explore an extension. For now, the Yankees just went with Boone’s one-year option with a Nov. 9 deadline approaching.

“Aaron is a steadying presence in our clubhouse and possesses a profound ability to connect with and foster relationships with his players,” Cashman said in a statement. “Consistently exhibiting these skills in such a demanding and pressurized market is what makes him one of the game’s finest managers. Our work is clearly not done, but as we pursue the ultimate prize in 2025, I am excited to have Aaron back to lead our team.”

Cashman also defended Boone’s decisions during the Yankees’ sloppy, losing World Series effort earlier this week, particularly turning to Nestor Cortes, fresh off of injury, in the 10th inning of Game 1. The lefty then surrendered a walk-off grand slam to the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman.

While Boone has received criticism from fans throughout his tenure with the Yankees, he’s taken the team to the playoffs in all but one season and is the seventh-winningest manager in franchise history with a 603-429 record. He also has tremendous support in the Yankees’ clubhouse, especially from Aaron Judge and other veterans.

“He takes a lot of heat and keeps firing, keeps going forward,” Giancarlo Stanton, who joined the Yankees in time for Boone’s first season as manager in 2018, said during the postseason. “That’s why he’s one of the anchors for us.”