If you have been watching the New York Yankees lately, you know that it has been a rough stretch. They have been unraveling in ways fans did not anticipate. Because the Yankees’ start to the year was fire and blaze, right? However, the team is now falling apart, and at its core are two names taking the fall for it—first, manager Aaron Boone, and second, Devin Williams. But then Bronx fans might be going—what’s new, right?
Boone has been defending Williams almost all season now. And now the skipper is catching hell for handing the ball to Williams in the biggest spot. As for Williams, he is not getting the job done at all. Because three blown saves in a row, four losses, and an ERA of 5.73 do not scream closer of the Yankees, right? Get this: in over 2⅔ innings this month, he has coughed up five earned runs, two homers, and five hits.
And Friday night against the Astros was another meltdown for the Yanks. Three runs in extras and another big L for them. And this time, Williams didn’t sugarcoat anything, saying, “Not making pitches. It’s pretty simple…. I stink right now.” And well, he has a great Yankee here to give a pep talk to him.
PITTSBURGH, PA – APRIL 04: Devin Williams #38 of the New York Yankees in action against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the home opener at PNC Park on April 4, 2025 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
Mariano Rivera was at Saturday’s Old Timers Day at Yankee Stadium. And given Mo is the greatest closer ever to live for some, the master of shutting down the door when it matters most, he, of course, would have some great advice to give Williams, right? And well he does, Rivera mentioned, “Can’t do nothing about it. Once it’s done, it’s done. Just learn from it, move on, and be confident. You have to be confident in yourself. If you’re not confident in yourself, you’re playing the wrong sport.”
Now, Rivers has not been glued to the Yankee games this year, maybe so he doesn’t know that the year has been tough for Williams. And this advice was crucial too, because it’s not just Williams’s stat line that’s been hurting; it’s his confidence too that’s taking a beating. “I’m not going to say [my confidence is] as high as it’s ever been… I just need to put some good ones together and get the ball rolling,” he admitted recently. Well, one thing is for sure: confidence is not a luxury for a closer in New York; it’s a job description, and Boone knows it, and Williams knows it.
Fans are getting impatient, and Boone constantly saving Williams is not helping him. Right now, there is a huge uproar for a regime change, and most want not just Boone out but even Cashman out. For now, some names are swirling around as potential future managers for the New York Yankees.
With the New York Yankees slipping, Aaron Boone could be on his way out
Now, Aaron Boone, despite the disaster of last season’s World Series run, ended up getting a contract extension. For now, it doesn’t look like he is parting ways with the Yankees so soon. But that being said, the whispers of replacement have now started. Given that the team is sitting in third place in the AL East, with the Blue Jays and Red Sox ahead of them. They are barely clinging to their Wild Card hopes, and fans are getting restless.
Now the New York Yankees lead the American League in WAR, but that doesn’t turn into wins. To many, that points to a leadership issue, and Boone’s seat is starting to feel a little warm. FanSided’s Christopher Kline recently floated around three names who could come in Boone’s role if his time to prove himself runs out. First is Angels skipper Ron Washington, and secondly, Marlins manager Skip Schumaker or Yankees bench coach Brad Ausmus. So Washington and Schumaker bring the outside perspective, but Ausmus is already in the mix, right? Kline best put it, “The Yankees aren’t exactly known for brave, outside-the-box thinking when it comes to hiring managers…Boone spent (a brief amount of) time with the Yankees as a player. Brad Ausmus did not, but he is New York’s bench coach, so he’s a familiar face in the clubhouse.“
And Ausmus has been around this baseball world for decades now. He was drafted by the Yankees back in 1987, and then he spent five seasons in the minors before enjoying 18 years in MLB as a catcher. Along the way, he became a three-time Gold Glove winner and a 1999 All-Star. He retired in 2010 and has managed the Tigers, the Angels, and the A’s, and finally joined the Yankee staff in 2024.
Boone, meanwhile, has been at the thick of it since 2018, without delivering a World Series win. For now, if they make it to the playoffs, even, it might be a happy coincidence. So, Boone may run out of chances if that happens.
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