The Yankees got off to a hot start in the 2025 MLB season, leading the AL East by seven games as of May 28. But things started to slide later on. And they ended up in second place behind the  Blue Jays, losing out due to a tiebreaker. And guess what, both their offense and pitching struggled, especially after the All-Star break. Still, the Yankees didn’t hold back at the plate, and they kept swinging, even if it meant racking up a high strikeout rate.

Reportedly, the Yankees averaged 69 swings per game through August. And despite finishing strong with a 14-6 record in their last 20 games, they still fell short against the Blue Jays in the ALDS. So, were the Yankees not built for the playoffs? Well, at least one person thinks otherwise.

“The Yankees rely on the home run, and the Yankees strike out too much. Do you know? The Mariners obviously scored eight of the ten runs via the home run, and they struck out 14 times. The Mariners struck out 14 times. They won the game, ten to three. The Blue Jays put the ball and played as much as they did against the New York Yankees.” MLB analyst Kevin McMonigle shared via WFAN Sports Radio.

Well, outside of perhaps the Dodgers, who are their counterparts in what you might call “Airborne Baseball”, New York is fully committed to launching fly balls, even off the bottom third of the baseball. And the whole lineup has tweaked swings and attack angles to get the ball in the air. And they’re doing it so aggressively that traditional markers of a playoff-ready team, like minimizing strikeouts or hitting with runners in scoring position, don’t really apply.

In fact, the 2025 Yankees are worse in those areas than the 2024 version, and that’s intentional…

For example, in August, they smacked 59 HRs. For the unversed, only the 2019 Yankees have ever hit more in August. And they managed it with the fewest hits (227), out of 32 teams that hit 50+ homers that month. Even so, four teams still racked up more strikeouts than the Yankees, and only one of them, the Mariners, is actually still in the playoffs.

So, as McMonigle points out, it’s not that the Yankees weren’t a playoff-caliber team. They just didn’t hit their stride at the right time.

What future holds for the Yankees with Aaron Boone?

Now that the narrative that the Yankees didn’t play like a playoff team is put to rest, does that mean Aaron Boone’s job is secure? Since the Yankees have fallen away from the postseason, calls are rising to fire Boone.

“If I were running the New York Yankees. I would say, thank you for your time. I would move on, not because he’s a bad manager, not because he’s an idiot, not because I blame him for all their failures. But I think sometimes in this sport, specifically the NBA too, there’s a shelf life on an NBA coach. Just look at what just happened to the top things, a part of which is shelf life.” MLB analyst Evan Roberts said via WFAN Sports Radio.

Well, Boone’s tenure with the Yankees has been quite a ride. It was full of highs, frustrations, and constant scrutiny that comes with managing one of baseball’s most storied franchises.

Reportedly, Boone took over as manager before the 2018 season, meaning his run with the team has now stretched to eight years (2018–2025). And in that time, he’s led the Yankees to the postseason in six of those eight seasons, including multiple 90+ win campaigns. Hence, his teams have consistently been competitive. But they’ve struggled to get over the hump in October, failing to reach the World Series during his tenure.

So, when you’re managing a team like the Yankees, there’s nothing beyond winning a ring. Hence, despite the Yankees not having played their worst this year, popular sentiment is expectedly against retaining Boone.