NEW YORK — The Yankees are moving beyond their first high-profile front-office departures, widening a staff overhaul that could eventually reach the major league coaching staff. Four experienced members of the scouting and advisory operation are on their way out, and a new evaluator is coming in as the club reassesses another failed postseason run.
The changes are unfolding beneath the two men still charged with leading the team. Brian Cashman is returning as general manager and Aaron Boone remains the manager, yet the Yankees are beginning to change the structure around them. The question now is whether that review will stop with baseball operations or extend to the hitting staff.
That possibility carries particular weight after a season in which the Yankees scored 110 fewer runs than in 2025 and were swept by Tampa Bay in the American League Division Series. Owner Hal Steinbrenner has identified offensive performance as a priority in his coaching review, adding uncertainty for hitting coach James Rowson.
The latest personnel moves broaden a shakeup that began with decisions not to renew the contracts of former general managers Omar Minaya and Brian Sabean. New reports identify two additional scouting departures and an incoming executive. Rowson has not been dismissed, but his position is among the unresolved issues as the Yankees plan for 2027.
Two more departures take Yankees shakeup beyond Minaya and Sabean
Longtime professional scouts Tommy Wilson and Pat Murtaugh will not return, according to reporting published Saturday. Murtaugh is retiring. Their departures follow the decisions not to renew the contracts of former general managers Omar Minaya and Brian Sabean, who had served as advisers to Cashman.
The Yankees also hired former major league reliever Frank Herrmann as supervisor for global evaluation and player-development integration. Herrmann most recently worked in the Toronto Blue Jays organization, giving the Yankees a new executive with experience connecting scouting, baseball operations and development.
Wilson joined the Yankees in 2004 after his playing career. Murtaugh had worked for the organization since 2015. The moves do not necessarily mean every departure has the same cause: Murtaugh is retiring, while the club is allowing other contracts to expire.
Herrmann’s role is especially notable because it crosses two departments often judged separately. Evaluating a player is only the first step. Turning that evaluation into a development plan, and then into major league value, requires a coordinated process. His hiring indicates that integration will be a named responsibility in the Yankees’ next front-office structure.
James Rowson could be next major staff decision
The growing list of changes shifts attention toward Rowson, who has overseen Yankees hitting instruction for three seasons. No firing has been announced, and the reported departures involve baseball operations rather than his coaching position. Still, Steinbrenner made clear in October that the club’s offensive shortcomings would receive special scrutiny.
Steinbrenner said the examination would extend beyond the general manager and manager, making the hitting operation a specific point of emphasis.
“I’m definitely focused on the offense and on the hitting,” Steinbrenner said.
Boone offered a different assessment when asked about Rowson’s work with hitters, defending the environment he has built.
“I’ve been really impressed with the culture that he’s created,” Boone said.
Those positions need not be mutually exclusive. The Yankees can value Rowson’s relationships and preparation while still asking whether the group needs a different approach. Rowson completed his third season as the club’s hitting coach, supported in 2026 by assistant coaches Casey Dykes and Jake Hirst.
Offensive numbers behind Rowson’s uncertain future
The Yankees scored 739 runs in 2026, down from 849 in 2025, according to Baseball-Reference’s team batting records. The 110-run decrease came with one fewer game played, but the rate decline was substantial: from 5.24 to 4.59 runs per game. That is roughly 0.65 fewer runs every night.
The Yankees also fell from 274 homers to 223, from a .251 batting average to .235 and from a .787 OPS to .720. Their on-base percentage dropped from .332 to .311. Home runs remained a strength, but fewer hits and baserunners reduced the lineup’s margin for error.
The postseason provided a narrower but more damaging snapshot. The Yankees swept Boston in the wild-card round, then went winless against Tampa Bay in the ALDS. Their season ended with the same central problem that had troubled their offense during stretches of the regular season: too little consistent production around its power.
The distinction matters for Rowson’s future. A hitting coach does not control injuries or every roster decision. Yet the steep year-over-year decline offers ownership a measurable reason to review instruction, planning and the way hitters make adjustments.
Cashman and Boone remain as Yankees weigh next move
The Yankees have retained continuity at the top while changing the surrounding operation. Cashman is returning, Boone remains in charge of the clubhouse, and pitching coach Matt Blake has an extension through 2029. The contrast makes the decision on Rowson especially conspicuous as the Yankees review their coaching structure and roster plans.
As of Nov. 1, the identifiable changes are the exits of Minaya, Sabean, Wilson and Murtaugh, alongside Herrmann’s arrival. Rowson remains the Yankees’ hitting coach with no confirmed decision on his future. Whether he becomes the next departure will show how far the organization is willing to extend its response to another October disappointment.
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