If the New York Yankees’ season spirals into another failure, they won’t have to go far to find their replacement for manager Aaron Boone — at least according to one New York radio host.
All they have to do is look to the newest guy added to Boone’s staff, Brad Ausmus, who was hired as bench coach Tuesday, according to the team, to replace Carlos Mendoza, who left to become the New York Mets’ manager. It’s the first time Boone has had a bench coach with managerial experience. Josh Bard held the role before Mendoza.
“This is a major league player, catcher, played many years, was a very good defensive catcher, knows the game … has managerial experience,” WFAN’s Chris McMonigle said Wednesday. “This is a clear-cut guy they can go to at some point over the course of the year to step in for Aaron Boone.”
Ausmus, 54, was the Oakland A’s bench coach in 2022, but was not a part of a staff in 2023. He has not enjoyed much success as a manager, lasting four years as the Tigers’ manager from 2014-17 and going 314-332 with a playoff appearance in his first season, when Detroit won the AL Central. He was fired as the Los Angeles Angels’ manager in 2019 after one season in which he went 72-90. Before his coaching career, Ausmus spent 18 years in the majors with four teams as a light-hitting, defense-first catcher.
“This is a legitimate guy who has no ties to Aaron Boone, with managerial experience, where if Aaron Boone — if this team doesn’t play well to start … but if this team falls flat, something they don’t like – I do think, legitimately now, they have a clear-cut guy you can easily transition to. I think this is clearly a step in the ‘let’s have someone there with a different point of view.’”
Boone has gone 509-361 in six seasons as the Yankees’ manager. The 2023 campaign was the first, however, where he did not reach the playoffs, finishing 82-80 for New York’s worst season since 1992.
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