NEW YORK — Aaron Boone spent the summer insisting the Yankees did not need to tear apart their approach. Three months later, the pressure surrounding that approach has moved from a midseason skid to the edge of postseason elimination.
The Yankees won 93 regular-season games, claimed the American League’s top wild-card spot and overwhelmed Boston in the Wild Card Series. That reset the mood after an uneven summer. It did not erase the larger question that has followed Boone through his ninth season: how long regular-season success can outweigh repeated October frustration.
Tampa Bay has brought that question back with force. The Yankees managed one hit in a 1-0 loss in Game 1 of the AL Division Series at Tropicana Field. Two nights later, New York committed four errors, including three in the first inning, during a 5-2 loss. They finally surrendered to the Rays 4-3 at home to bow out of the playoff.
Boone is now managing on an expiring contract. The Yankees extended him through 2027 in February 2025, and general manager Brian Cashman publicly backed him again during the July downturn. That makes any change more complicated than a routine offseason decision. It would require ownership to decide that continuity itself has become part of the problem, even with guaranteed money and a long record of winning seasons still attached to Boone. It would also come after a season in which New York outscored opponents by 138 runs, the best differential in the AL East despite finishing behind Tampa Bay.
A familiar Yankees name remains inside the system
If the Yankees ever decide the dugout needs a different voice, one of the most credible internal options remains Shelley Duncan, the manager of Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Duncan is not simply a former Yankees player with name recognition. He has spent four seasons running the organization’s highest minor league affiliate and has worked directly with many of the players who have moved between Scranton and the Bronx.
The Yankees hired Duncan to manage the RailRiders in 2023. He followed a 73-75 debut season with 89 wins in 2024 and 87 in 2025, when Minor League Baseball named him International League Manager of the Year. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre finished 78-68 this season, including a 41-31 second half, according to MiLB records.
That gives Duncan a 327-263 record across four seasons with the Yankees’ Triple-A club. Since the start of 2024, his teams are 254-188, a .575 winning percentage. Those figures do not prove major league managerial readiness, but they show sustained results rather than a one-year spike.
Boone’s support has survived previous Yankees storms
Cashman gave Boone a clear vote of confidence when the Yankees stumbled badly in July. The general manager said his view of Boone had not changed despite the club losing 15 of 20 games during that stretch.
“I think Boone does a great job,” Cashman said.
Boone also resisted the idea that the offense needed a philosophical reset while the Yankees were struggling.
“We’re not going to overhaul and change,” Boone said.
The Yankees eventually recovered, reached October and swept the Red Sox. Yet the first two games against Tampa Bay have revived the same concerns in a more consequential setting. New York has scored two runs in 18 ALDS innings, and the Game 2 defensive breakdown matched the second-most errors the franchise has committed in a postseason game, according to MLB.
Duncan offers continuity without complete continuity
Duncan would represent an unusual middle path if the Yankees ever moved away from Boone. He knows the organization, its player-development system and its analytical structure. Before returning to the Yankees, he worked in the White Sox organization, including time in an analytics-focused role, and managed in Arizona’s minor league system.
His strongest organizational advantage may be familiarity with younger players. Spencer Jones and other prospects have spent time under Duncan at Triple-A. A manager already fluent in the Yankees’ development language could reduce the disruption that normally comes with replacing a long-tenured major league manager.
There is also obvious risk. Duncan has never managed in the majors. Running a Triple-A clubhouse is different from handling a playoff roster, veteran contracts, daily national scrutiny and the expectations surrounding Yankee Stadium. The Yankees would be asking a first-time MLB manager to take over a team built to contend immediately.
Game 3 now carries more than one Yankees consequence
The immediate issue is survival. The Yankees return to the Bronx needing three straight wins after Tampa Bay took the first two games at home. MLB notes that teams taking a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five postseason series have advanced 83 of 93 times.
Boone’s contract and Cashman’s support make a managerial change far from inevitable. But the case for an internal successor looks more developed than it did when the question first surfaced during the summer. Duncan has now completed another winning season, while the major league club is again being judged by what happens in October.
For Boone, Wednesday’s Game 3 is first about extending the Yankees’ season. If that does not happen, the organization will again confront whether the same leadership structure should be trusted with another championship attempt.
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