4 Aaron Boone replacements the Yankees should have on speed dial

The New York Yankees' dream postseason has turned into a nightmare almost overnight. Game 3 of the World Series was depressingly more of the same, as New York's offense was once again silenced in a 4-2 loss that gives the Los Angeles Dodgers a commanding 3-0 series lead and more or less turns out the lights on the Yankees' title hopes. While the season isn't technically over yet, most fans are more than ready to turn their attention to what figures to be a pivotal offseason.

Juan Soto's free agency is the (600) million-dollar question, but Brian Cashman has at least one more immediate matter to deal with: the future of embattled manager Aaron Boone. It's unclear whether Boone will be back for an eighth season in the Bronx, but after several gaffes in this World Series, it feels like it's long past time to make a change. Which begs the question: Who should the Yankees look to as a replacement? Here are three names the team would be crazy not to call.

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4. Shelley Duncan could be a rising star in the organization

This might not be the flashiest name for Cashman to consider, but it would be a prudent one. A former second-round pick of the Yankees back in 2001, Duncan spent three years with the team as a player from 2007 to 2009. After retiring in 2014, he immediately went into coaching, bouncing from the Diamondbacks to the Blue Jays to the White Sox. He returned to New York last winter, when Cashman named him as manager of the team's Triple-A affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Duncan's first season in Scranton was a bumpy one, but he led the RailRiders to an 89-60 record in 2024 while helping to develop players like Ben Rice, Everson Pereira and Jorbit Vivas. Duncan knows the organization's developmental methods and priorities, and he seems to have a knack for leading a clubhouse. He also comes from a pretty impressive background: Duncan's father Dave was among the best pitching coaches in the sport for decades, churning out the quality arms that fueled Tony La Russa's run with the St. Louis Cardinals.

3. Skip Schumaker got a raw deal with the Marlins

Schumaker fell victim to the Miami Marlins' jaw-dropping organizational purge, but their loss could be the Yankees' game. Just last year Schumaker took home NL Manager of the Year honors for helping an undermanned Marlins roster get all the way to the postseason, and prior to that he was seemingly beloved as a bench coach for the Cardinals. Schumaker's desire to win clashed with Miami's skinflint front office, but he wouldn't have any such problems in New York. Maybe he wants to sit a year and see if, say, St. Louis finds itself looking for a new manager next winter. If he's interested, though, the Yankees need to give him the hard sell for his blend of clubhouse presence and analytical bent.

2. Will Venable has become the hottest name on the market right now

If Schumaker isn't the biggest name available right now, Venable is. He's reportedly a finalist for openings in both Miami and the Chicago White Sox, and his post-playing resume is impressive: Venables began his coaching career as a special assistant to then-Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein, then served as Red Sox bench coach before winning a ring as part of Bruce Bochy's coaching staff with the Texas Rangers in 2023. Venable played his college ball at Princeton, so he's at least familiar with the tristate area, and like Schumaker his background is an enticing combination of old-school (Bochy) and new-age (Epstein).

1. Make Rob Thomson turn you down

Pipe dream? Sure, but hear me out. Before he was leading the Philadelphia Phillies to three straight postseason berths and one NL pennant, Thomson was a Yankees lifer, spending nearly three decades with the organization from 1990 to 2017. He bounced between Minor League coach and front office staffer before getting the call to serve as Joe Girardi's bench coach prior to the 2008 season, and he was an integral part of the last New York team to win a title back in 2009.

Thomson and the Phillies just agreed to a contract extension a couple of weeks ago, and Dave Dombrowski gave his skipper a vote of confidence entering this offseason. But things are a bit fraught in Philly right now amid diminishing playoff returns, and Thomson undoubtedly still has plenty of connections with the Yankees from his time there. He speaks their language, and clearly his players love playing for him; New York has to at least make him say no.