It took Aaron Boone one day to give Yankees fans reason not to trust him this season

It's safe to say that the way Aaron Boone ended the 2024 MLB season did not inspire a ton of confidence among New York Yankees fans. Sure, he led the team to its first World Series appearance since 2009. But that World Series appearance went up in smoke in large part thanks to baffling bullpen management and some Keystone Kops-level meltdowns on the bases and in the field, none of which reflected too well on the team's manager.

But hey: Hope springs eternal, right? It's a new year, and a new season, and as the Yankees reported to Florida for the start of camp, the slate had been wiped clean. New York lost Juan Soto to the rival Mets over the offseason — a debacle that Boone played a not-insignificant role in — but with Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, Devin Williams and more in tow, this still figured to be one of, if not the, teams to beat in the AL. Maybe, Yankees fans told themselves, Boone's learned from his mistakes and come back stronger!

Unfortunately, that delusion only lasted for ... about a day or so. If you were hoping that Boone would be putting his foot in his mouth a bit less this season, well, think again.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work onThe Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB offseason.

Aaron Boone starts Yankees spring training with baffling Jake Cousins injury mix-up

Boone gave his first Grapefruit League press conference on Tuesday afternoon, touching on all manner of topics. When asked about the health of his team entering spring, he exuded positivity, telling reporters that there wasn't much to worry about on that front.

Given how many injury concerns are on New York's aging roster, and how little depth there is behind them at some very important spots (especially in the lineup), that was a huge sigh of relief for a fan base that has dealt with more than its fair share of health issues over the past few seasons.

Or it would have been, if Boone could be taken at his word. Just minutes after Boone delivered that response, word broke that reliever Jake Cousins was dealing with a forearm strain and may not be ready to go by Opening Day.

Cousins isn't a household name, but he was expected to play an important role in New York's bullpen in 2025 after pitching to a 2.37 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 38 innings last season. Losing him for an extended period of time would be meaningful blow. But even beyond that, it's not a great look for Boone to be immediately contradicted like this. Either the front office doesn't trust him with this sort of information, or he's willingly misleading the media in ways that will be obvious in a matter of hours, if not minutes. No matter which of those two versions of events are true, it seems like more of the same for a manager who consistently seems overwhelmed by the magnitude of his job.