Higher ups with the New York Yankees still want Aaron Boone to succeed as the team's manager. That does not mean GM Brian Cashman and team ownership have unlimited patience. If the team's high-profile stars continue to make mental errors the franchise may be forced to pull the plug on Boone's tenure in charge.
The bad news in the Bronx is that the mental errors that have caused the team's latest slump aren't limited to one or two stars. Quite a few members of the roster can be criticized for schoolboy errors over the last few weeks. Base running mistakes, simple errors in the field and even forgetting the number of outs have damaged the team's win total and psyche.
If Boone does lose his job then Yankees fans can expect him to accept it with grace. He isn't the sort of person to take to the media to blame others. This list will not be so kind. The following four Yankees should be held most responsible if their manager gets the axe.
Jazz Chisholm, INF
Jazz Chisholm has a ton of talent but his mental focus lately has been a major concern for the Yankees. Inexplicably being doubled up at first base on a routine infield fly this weekend perfectly encapsulated how unreliable he's been for his manager.
Jazz Chisholm gets caught sleeping on a pop up to second and the Marlins turn the double play pic.twitter.com/5SaB49tSof
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 2, 2025
Boone has gone to great lengths to make Chisholm feel comfortable with the team. He's encouraged him to replace his individuality and the flamboyance that makes him a fan-favorite. What's unclear is if Boone needs to switch up his tactics. Perhaps taking a harder line would be more appropriate for a player with Chisholm's level of experience.
Chisholm is never going to be the team's most consistent player, but he needs to improve his focus if he wants to help his manager keep his job. It's time for him to repay Boone's trust with better production in all phases of his game.
Marcus Stroman, RHP
The Yankees finally parted ways with Marcus Stroman this week which put an end to his ugly tenure with the team. The team signed him in free agency with the idea that he could become a quality veteran starter in the middle of their rotation. Instead, he finished his 2025 in New York with an ugly WAR of -0.4 and a bloated ERA of 6.23.
Things might have been different for Stroman if he would have embraced his role as a potential bullpen arm when he first started to struggle as a starter. Instead, he initially insisted that he'd only pitch as a starter before reluctantly joining the team's relieving corps.
That seemed to leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth. Stroman never seemed happy this season and the coaching staff never was inclined to trust him as a starter. It turned out to be the sort of expensive contract error that tends to cost managers their jobs.
Anthony Volpe, SS
It's easy to understand why a number of Yankees fans refer to the young shortstop as his manager's "teacher's pet." Boone has gone out of his way to defend Anthony Volpe's status with the team at every opportunity.
Volpe's defense has been nothing short of disastrous. He leads the major leagues with errors with 16 on the season. The nature of his mistakes has been even more troubling. Many of his errors have come on routine throws or mental errors where he would have been better off just holding the baseball.
In theory, those are things that should be impacted by better coaching. It may not be Boone's job to oversee Volpe's every day fielding practice but his glove work ultimately becomes his responsibility. If Volpe continues to be one of the worst fielders in baseball down the stretch it will be hard for the Yankees to succeed.
Aaron Judge, OF
No, Aaron Judge is not on this list because of concerns over his recent trip to the IL. He could put the final nail in Boone's managerial coffin as a result of just how good he's been during his 2025 campaign.
Yankees' ownership is not going to react kindly to this version of the team wasting a truly historic season from the team's best player. They understand his athletic prime is not going to last forever. They need to end their World Series drought while their new captain is still playing at an MVP level.
In the end, that might be the most compelling reason for the Yankees to make a regime change. Judge only has so many prime seasons left. If Cashman and his brain trust think keeping Boone in charge might cause them to waste another one then they'll feel compelled to make a change.