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As the Yankees’ season drew to a disheartening close earlier in October, franchise legend Derek Jeter sparked conversation by implying that manager Aaron Boone might not be solely responsible for all in-game decisions.
On Thursday, Brian Cashman firmly refuted any such claims, insisting Boone retains complete authority over game-time choices, dismissing Jeter’s comment as a “sad, sad throwaway comment.”
In the wake of the Yankees’ ALDS exit against the Blue Jays, Jeter and former Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez shared their critiques on FS1’s postgame show. Rodriguez criticized the management for what he described as “one of the worst constructions of a roster” he’d ever witnessed.
While acknowledging his lack of detailed insight into the team’s internal operations, Jeter speculated that Boone might not be independently making all decisions.
“Aaron did a good job,” Jeter remarked. “He’s working with what he has, and he stands up for his players. I know he faces a lot of criticism. … I’m not speaking from insider knowledge, but I suspect that Aaron isn’t the one orchestrating every move during the games.”
Cashman, after his post-mortem press conference on Thursday when he publicly backed Boone, called into WFAN’s “Evan and Tiki” to shoot down the idea that the front office is secretly pulling the strings.
The longtime general manager said the “boogeyman” of someone outside the manager making the moves — at least in The Bronx — is unfounded, even if it’s a popular narrative from critics, particularly those who bemoan analytics.
“It’s not true, clearly,” Cashman said. “And they don’t know, clearly they don’t know. I know that DJ said that, I don’t what he meant by it, he did say he doesn’t have inside knowledge when he said it. But he did say it, for whatever reason. And I think that’s the bugaboo that people get to throw out there when they got nothing else to throw.”
Cashman made clear that he doesn’t make the lineup or tell Boone who to pitch.
He did say there are conversations about “process and setups” to help make informed decisions but no specific directives in-game.
“It’s just a sad, sad throwaway comment for people to make that don’t really know,” Cashman said.