Yankees manager Aaron Boone appeared on WFAN radio on Monday for a wide-ranging interview in which he touched on several topics, including a largely similar roster entering Spring Training after a loss to the American League champion Blue Jays last fall, how much influence the front office has when it comes to in-game decision-making and injury updates on Gerrit Cole and Anthony Volpe.
“The end of last season was arguably the hardest one I’ve had,” Boone said. “Because I felt so strongly about our group. … We’ve had a couple of great teams, but maybe we’ve been [broken] at the end of the year, beat up. Last year, it was happening, and so that’s what made it difficult at the end for me is that now you get beat and you go home, and it was to a division rival that kind of beat you up throughout the course of the year.
“So I’m personally excited about having the players that we do going back at it because I think there’s a hunger there after we didn’t finish the job, and I think we’re really good.”
The Yankees, who re-signed outfielder Cody Bellinger, right-hander Paul Blackburn and infielder Amed Rosario and traded for left-hander Ryan Weathers, will return largely the same roster that won 94 games and an AL Wild Card berth last year after reaching the World Series in 2024.
One question that has often swirled around Boone and the Yankees is how much longtime general manager Brian Cashman and the front office influence in-game decisions. He addressed that during the WFAN interview.
“It’s not true,” Boone said. “And even to the degree of the other stuff -- like before a game, we meet and that’s not really how it goes down either. … Cash is not in the weeds on the baseball stuff. Cash is the best hirer, delegator, overseer that I’ve ever been around. He’s not in the weeds -- he’s not that guy.”
Boone was also asked about some of the injured stars who are working their way back, particularly Cole -- a former Cy Young Award winner who missed the entire 2025 campaign recovering from Tommy John surgery -- and Volpe, who is recovering from left shoulder surgery.
Cole, Boone said, has “had a good rehab” that has “gone according to plan, no hiccups.”
“So I’m expecting Gerrit Cole-like things,” he added. “We won’t rush him back, he won’t rush back. I think that’s important, but he’s been doing good pretty much every step of the way.”
Volpe is also on track to return sometime early in the season and will soon begin hitting again, Boone said before being asked about how he sees Volpe’s future at shortstop for the Yanks, particularly with José Caballero now in the fold after New York acquired him in a trade with the Rays last summer.
Volpe struggled last season, certainly affected by the injury. But while he’s won a Gold Glove Award for his strong defense, he owns a .662 OPS over three Major League seasons.
“Now with Caballero in the mix, we have someone that it’s like, man, this guy is a really good Major League player,” Boone said. “I think he showed that with us and he’s shown that the past couple years with Tampa and Seattle. He can legit defend at a lot of different places, including shortstop. So, he started to push himself into the mix a little bit last year.
"I still think Anthony is going to be a frontline shortstop in this league. Everyone’s path isn’t linear. We always want it to be here, and that can be tough, especially in New York when you’re kind of finding your way. I think he's gonna turn into that player and I want it to be here. But bringing in guys like Caballero, I think that’s good for competition.”
In a similar vein, Boone was asked about former top prospect Jasson Domínguez, who is currently projected to remain a fourth outfielder on the Yankees’ depth chart and hasn’t really broken out at the plate, while experiencing some struggles defensively.
Boone expressed confidence in Domínguez, cautioning that he’s still just 22 years old.
“I think what gets lost sometimes is that last year was his age-22 season,” Boone said. “And he very much held his own. And while he’s still a work-in-progress defensively … I think he’s showing signs he still has a chance to be a really good player in this league. How that shakes out initially, we’ll see. He’s gonna get his opportunities. … So let’s not write the script on him too early.”
Boone is entering his ninth season at the helm for the Yankees. He owns a .584 winning percentage over his eight seasons as New York’s manager and he has led the Yanks to the postseason in seven of those eight years, including a World Series appearance in 2024.
When asked whether he still loves what he does, as well as how difficult it is to manage for such a historic franchise with such a passionate fan base, Boone didn’t hesitate to express the realities of the job and how he feels about the future.
“I know what I signed up for in that regard,” he said. “I don’t know if you can ever really be prepared for it. And I think the only thing that bothers me about it is that I haven’t won [a World Series title].
“ … I want to win. I want to win it all. That’s why I’m coming back. It’s a grind, it’s tough, but I love our guys, I love the people I do it with, I love working for the Steinbrenners and Cash and it’s a great place to be. And there’d be no better place to win.”