Yankees news: Aaron Boone extension, Hal Steinbrenner excuses, third-base situation

After seemingly weeks of silence, we finally got some sort of update on how the New York Yankees are going about the remainder of the team's offseason. And we'll be blunt: If you're a Yankees fan, you probably didn't love most of it.

New York moved quickly after losing Juan Soto, signing lefty Max Fried and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and acquiring Cody Bellinger and Devin Williams via trade. Since then, though, there's been ... a whole lot of nothing, and it seems like that won't be changing any time soon. Both manager Aaron Boone and owner Hal Steinbrenner spoke with the media on Tuesday evening, touching on everything from Boone's contract to the team's payroll to the question marks that remain in the infield and with the Opening Day lineup.

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

Yankees news: New York eyes extension for manager Aaron Boone

Steinbrenner sat down with the YES Network on Tuesday night, and while most of the questions he fielded had to do with improving the team's roster before spring training (more on that in a moment), he was also asked about the status of manager Aaron Boone, who's entering the final year of the three-year deal he signed after the 2021 season.

Despite getting his team to its first World Series since 2009, Boone came in for plenty of criticism last season, mostly for some extremely questionable bullpen decisions he made in New York's five-game loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. But he continues to have support in the locker room, most notably with star outfielder Aaron Judge, and it was never realistic for the team to consider making a change after winning the pennant. Sure enough, Steinbrenner confirmed that the Yankees plan on engaging Boone in contract talks in the coming days.

"I've always thought Aaron Boone was a very good manager and that's his reputation in the industry," Steinbrenner said. "We will be talking with him in the days and weeks to come. We're trying to hit the priorities right now, which is the roster itself. But there will be conversations had with him about potentially staying longer than that."

A healthy portion of the fan base would be happy with a change at manager, but Boone has won a lot of games over the last few years, and his ability to keep the team together amid the firestorm that is playing in the Bronx should count for something.

Yankees news: Hal Steinbrenner claims it's 'difficult' for Yankees to compete financially with Dodgers

Unfortunately for Yankees fans, Steinbrenner was far from done on Tuesday. YES also asked him for his thoughts on the Dodgers, who've drawn the ire of fans and owners alike amid yet another massive offseason — one that's seen the payroll gap between themselves and the rest of the league only widen.

You might think that Steinbrenner would welcome that sort of financial competition; he is George's son, after all, and it's not like the Yankees are hurting for cash. Instead, though, he added to the chorus of concern, saying that it was "difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kinds of things that [the Dodgers are] doing".

Which is pretty rich, coming from the owner of what Forbes ranked last year as the fourth-most valuable sports franchise in the world. It's one thing for Twins or Marlins fans to throw up their hands at the Dodgers' ability throw cash around. But the Yankees, of all teams, should have no excuse to be outspent by anybody.

But Steinbrenner seems set on insisting that New York can't possibly go above the final luxury-tax threshold (a threshold that the Dodgers and New York Mets have already crossed). And that's having some significant impact on his team's roster.

Yankees news: Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s move to second base leaves questions at third

Boone also met with the media on Tuesday, calling in to WFAN for a radio interview. He had plenty to say about how the team was stacking up, from outfield alignment (Jasson Dominguez in left, Cody Bellinger in center) to leadoff options (Dominguez or Jazz Chisholm Jr., as things stand). But the most pressing question comes in the infield, where New York still has yet to find a replacement for the departed Gleyber Torres.

That leaves Boone to choose between a bunch of less-than-desirable options. The manager said that “right now” he'd like to move Chisholm Jr. back to second base, his more natural person. As for who'll play third in that case, the options are hardly inspiring: Boone mentioned DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza as internal candidates to win the job, none of whom look to be above-average MLB regulars at this point in their careers.

Of course, Boone would love to have someone else to slot into that spot in his lineup. But the team is already bumping up against the final tax threshold, and if that's the sort of hard cap that Steinbrenner is posturing like it is, there's not a ton that Boone or Brian Cashman can do about it.