Aaron Boone’s coaching staff will have a different look in 2026.
The Yankees have informed first-base coach Travis Chapman and bullpen coach Mike Harkey that they will not return for the upcoming season.
Assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler will also not return in his current role, though he may shift to another role in the organization.
“I just have to make tough decisions,” general manager Brian Cashman said Thursday at Yankee Stadium. “No one was per se terminated; these were expiring contracts. The question is, are we offering a new opportunity moving forward?
“And so I’ve made the decision to make some changes and open up to evaluate opportunities in the marketplace to see if we find some fits as we move forward in 2026 that make us better.”
Jake Hirst is being promoted to the Major League staff as an assistant hitting coach. Previously the club’s organizational hitting coordinator, Hirst had been offered a Major League position elsewhere.
“He’s earned this opportunity,” Boone said.
Meanwhile, hitting coach James Rowson has been granted permission to interview for the Twins’ managerial vacancy. Third-base coach Luis Rojas has already interviewed for the Orioles' manager job.
“We’ll see how that impacts us, if they’re moving on,” Boone said.
Harkey was one of the Yankees’ longest-tenured coaches -- the last remaining in-uniform link to the club’s most recent World Series championship in 2009. He served as the club’s bullpen coach from 2008-13 and again from 2016-25.
Boone called Harkey “kind of an institution with us,” adding that the former big league pitcher has “been in the middle of a lot of winning with us.”
“He has impacted our organization in tremendous ways, and is one of my best friends,” Boone said. “So those are awful days to go through.”
Chapman spent 13 seasons in the Yankees organization, including four on the Major League staff as first-base coach and infield coach. He also held the title of the organization’s director of infield.
“Chappy has done a lot of great things in this organization, through player development and then coming up and impacting our club up here,” Boone said.
There was a visible incident between Boone and Chapman in August, when Jazz Chisholm Jr. was doubled off on a pop-up to second base. Boone and Chapman were seen having an animated conversation in view of television cameras, which Boone later downplayed.
Bench coach Brad Ausmus is on an expiring contract, but is expected to return. Pitching coach Matt Blake and catching coordinator Tanner Swanson have club options for the 2026 season.