


Aaron Boone got a major vote of confidence on Thursday from Yankees captain Aaron Judge.
In a conversation with SNY’s Andy Martino, Judge said that he would like to see Boone return as manager next season.
The Yankees’ superstar called Boone “the guy” when asked about the manager’s status before the Bronx Bombers hosted Detroit at Yankee Stadium.
“He has been there for us in good times and bad times,” Judge responded when asked why he was sticking by Boone. “The guy shows up and supports his players.
“You can probably tell by the amount of times he’s been thrown out of games that he always has our back.”
Boone has been a frequent target of Yankees fans amid the club’s struggles this season.
The Yankees (70-69) sit in the basement of the AL East and are 6 ½ games back of the final wild-card spot in the American League going into Thursday’s game.
Hal Steinbrenner pledged last month that the organization would do a deep dive into what’s been going on, and general manager Brian Cashman went as far as to calk this season a “disaster” for the Yankees.

Boone, who took over managerial duties in 2018, is sure to be among the personnel that Steinbrenner reviews this offseason.
Judge likely will be part of any sort of offseason conversations and planning the organization goes through, which makes Thursday’s comments somewhat significant.
The Yankees skipper is in his sixth season in New York, and the team has yet to reach the World Series in his tenure.

The closest the Yankees have come were American League Championship Series appearances in 2019 and 2022, both of which resulted in series losses to the Astros.
In terms of Boone’s helping develop several of the Yankees’ prospects — including Jasson Dominguez — that have been called up in recent weeks, Judge gave him a thumbs up in that area as well.
“I think [he] definitely [is],” Judge said. “He is a great person for that.”

The captain also endorsed bringing back new hitting coach Sean Casey, who was hired midseason by the Yanks to curtail the team’s struggles at the plate.
“He has been great. Good baseball mind,” Judge said. “Good at thinking about the pitcher. Has great baseball stories and has a great way to slow guys down — relax and go out there and play. He understands how hard this game is on a daily basis.
“He just keeps us loose and keeps us ready to go.”