If Yankees crash and Aaron Boone gets fired, would they turn to hated rival for next manager?

Let’s begin this story with an important caveat: Despite the New York Yankees’ struggles, they have a 55-37 record, they hold the first wild-card spot and Fangraphs gives them a 98% chance to make the playoffs.

That being said, the season is starting to feel too much like 2023, when they finished 82-80, missed the playoffs and manager Aaron Boone and general manager Brian Cashman faced heavy scrutiny. And if these feelings turn into end-of-the-season disappointment — say, even an early playoff exit — would Boone’s time as manager be over, and even more noteworthy, would the Yankees make a play for Alex Cora, the Boston Red Sox manager who does not have a contract for next season?

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RESTORING THE GLORY

Crazier things have happened, but if there’s one certainty, it’s that Cora has proven to be one of the game’s best managers. Cora has a 489-410 career record that includes a World Series and two playoff appearances. But after two consecutive playoff-less seasons, Cora has the Red Sox at 49-40, beating the preseason predictions of many as Boston stayed quiet in free agency and seemed to be in a transitional year.

Via The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham:

Cora is signed through the end of the season and he has been careful to say he will wait until then to decide what he does next. He won’t even say he wants to stay with the Sox, which is smart.

Every manager was paying attention when the Cubs signed Craig Counsell to a five-year, $40 million deal in November. That’s a big leap from the $2.75 million Cora is making this season.

In six-plus seasons, Boone has a 564-398 record and five playoff appearances, including reaching the ALCS in 2019. But he has not gotten the Yankees over the hump and won a World Series.

MassLive’s Chris Cotillo wrote on July 7 that the “overwhelming belief in industry circles is that (Cora) won’t return, instead hitting managerial free agency and finding a lucrative deal with a team willing to pay him a big contract.”

Could that ultimately be from the Yankees?

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