Is Yankees’ Aaron Boone facing a ‘World Series-or-bust’ playoff mandate?

New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge suggested back in February he was embracing a “World Series-or-bust” mentality ahead of the ongoing season. 

The 2024 Yankees are now headed to the playoffs, will likely end September as champions of the American League East and could finish the regular season atop the overall AL standings. Thus, some understandably assume that Yankees skipper Aaron Boone will spend October managing to keep his job. 

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic touched upon Boone’s status during an appearance on the latest edition of “The Show” podcast hosted by Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman of the New York Post. 

“Let’s say he doesn’t get to the (AL Championship Series),” Rosenthal said about Boone, as shared by Jimmy Hascup of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. “Let’s complete it in those terms — then there’s going to be noise and there’s going to be frustration, not just with Boone but (Yankees senior vice president/general manager Brian Cashman).” 

Back in December 2022, Cashman signed a four-year contract that runs through the 2026 season. The acquisition of outfielder Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres last December should ensure that Cashman stays put through at least next year, as it turned the Yankees into a win-now team and a legitimate World Series contender. 

As for Boone, the 51-year-old who is in the last guaranteed year of a contract that includes a club option for 2025 guided the Yankees to the playoffs each year from 2018 through 2022 but became a target of some fans back in July amid the club’s unexpected summer swoon. According to the StatMuse website, the Yankees went 49-44 from June 1 through Wednesday evening. 

“That does reflect on the manager,” Rosenthal said about the Yankees’ “sloppy” play over the past several months. “There’s no question about it. … But if they don’t win, certainly the questions will be asked.”

It’s expected that Soto will look to reset the market in free agency this fall, and it’s unclear if Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner will outbid every other club to hold onto the fan-favorite slugger on a long-term basis. 

The Yankees may never again have both Judge and Soto on the same roster in their primes, so Steinbrenner could see it as a fireable offense if Boone fails to take this squad to the franchise’s first World Series appearance since the Bronx Bombers won the 2009 Fall Classic.