Yankees exercise 2025 club option for Boone

NEW YORK -- In the midst of a wet and wild celebration during the Yankees’ postseason run last month, having just advanced past the Royals in the American League Division Series, Aaron Boone was shivering -- courtesy of a cold beer poured down his neck by pitcher Nestor Cortes, who shouted repeatedly: “That’s my manager!”

The Yankees’ decision-makers clearly feel the same way as Cortes and his teammates. Boone will return for an eighth season as the club’s manager, it was announced on Friday, as the organization formally exercised the skipper’s 2025 contractual option.

Though Boone has fielded criticism in the wake of the Yankees’ five-game World Series loss to the Dodgers, the decision to bring him back should hardly register as a surprise, considering that the 51-year-old Boone is coming off a season in which he guided the Bombers to an American League-best 94 victories and the organization’s 41st World Series appearance.

Over his previous seven campaigns, Boone has recorded a 603-429 (.584) record while reaching the postseason in all but one year. He is scheduled to speak with the media via conference call on Monday.

“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 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 [the] 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.”

Boone is just the second manager in Major League history to reach the postseason in six of his first seven seasons as manager (min. two games managed per season), joining Dave Roberts (first nine seasons with the Dodgers).

He is the third Yankees manager to make the playoffs in six of his first seven seasons with the club, joining Casey Stengel (also six of first seven) and Joe Torre (each of first 12).

"Aaron is a steadying presence in our clubhouse and possesses a profound ability to connect with and foster relationships with his players,” Yankees general manager Brian 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."

Asked earlier this week about comments from two Dodgers players (Joe Kelly and Miguel Rojas) who suggested the Yanks’ lack of preparation in the areas of baserunning and defense made them vulnerable, Cashman defended Boone by pointing to his steadiness at the helm.

“The manager’s job is so impossible,” Cashman said at the General Managers Meetings in San Antonio. “You can play the game of second-guessing, because you’re either going to make a move and it’ll be right, or make a move and it’ll be wrong -- and then have at it, right?

“I think he’s a really, really good manager. I think we’re lucky to have him. He’s done a great job, but at the same time, it’s a very hard job to do. It gets harder in the postseason, because ultimately whatever you do either works or doesn’t. There’s no gray area.”

Boone’s 603 career managerial wins rank seventh on the Yankees’ all-time list, trailing Joe McCarthy (1,460-867-21), Joe Torre (1,173-767-2), Casey Stengel (1,149-696-6), Miller Huggins (1,067-719-10), Ralph Houk (944-806-7) and Joe Girardi (910-710).

His 22 career postseason wins are the fifth most by a Yankees manager in franchise history, trailing only Torre (76), Stengel (37), McCarthy (29) and Girardi (28).

Cashman has said that the Yankees would evaluate their coaching staff following the decision on Boone’s option, which followed earlier moves that included making a qualifying offer to outfielder Juan Soto, picking up a $2.5 million option on right-hander Luke Weaver, and declining 2025 options on first baseman Anthony Rizzo and right-hander Lou Trivino.