Yankees manager Aaron Boone: ‘We’re hell-bent’ on winning World Series

Major League Baseball

Published Feb. 14, 2024 6:46 p.m. ET

Outside of the Los Angeles Dodgers — who added Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Teoscar Hernandez — the New York Yankees have had the busiest offseason in Major League Baseball, and their manager is embracing that reality.

“We’re hell-bent on being a champion,” Boone expressed to the New York press core Wednesday. “And we understand very well that last year was not anything anyone in this organization wants or demands or expects, and I would say we have poured into that from ownership to the front office to the coaches and staff, all the way to the players that I do feel like we have prepared properly. We are ready to roll, but again, we gotta show ya. I’m gonna talk to you guys every single day, and anything I say now, next week, next month, into the season, we gotta go prove it.

“I think we have a chance to be a really special team; that’s all it is right now. We gotta go show the world that we’re as good as we think we can be.”

The Yankees went 82-80 last season, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and posting their worst winning percentage since going 76-86 (46.9%) in 1992, which led to a lively offseason.

New York pulled off a blockbuster trade in December, acquiring outfielder and three-time All-Star Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres. It also acquired outfielder Alex Verdugo from the Boston Red Sox and signed right-handed starting pitcher Marcus Stroman — who boasts a career 3.65 ERA — to a two-year, $37 million deal.

The Yankees will be getting back left-hander Nestor Cortes (shoulder) and Anthony Rizzo (head) this season, while superstar outfielder Aaron Judge missed extensive time last season due to a toe injury.

As for its competition in 2024, New York resides in a stacked AL East. The Baltimore Orioles won an AL-best 101 games last season, have a homegrown core across the board and acquired 2021 Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes from the Milwaukee Brewers earlier in the month.

Why Marcus Stroman is a perfect fit in the Yankees rotation

While they haven’t won a playoff game since 2021, the Tampa Bay Rays have made the playoffs in each of the past five seasons. Meanwhile, the Toronto Blue Jays have won 89-plus games in each of the past three seasons.

Boone is entering his seventh season as New York’s manager. The Yankees are a combined 509-361 in the regular season and 14-17 in the postseason under Boone. They haven’t reached the World Series since last winning the Fall Classic in 2009.

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