Yankees Notes: Deadline on Aaron Boone's option, Gleyber Torres alternatives

In a lengthy conversation with reporters at the GM Meetings, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman touched on the potential Mets pursuit of free agent Juan Soto, said the Yanks had checked in on Pete Alonso, admitted the team underperformed in the World Series and responded to criticism from Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly.

Here is more of what the long-time GM had to say Tuesday from San Antonio...

Deadline on Aaron Boone's option approaching

The Yankees hold an option on Boone's contract for the 2025 season and determining if the Yankees should exercise that option to retain the manager or work out a long-term extension is "clearly on the list of things to do," Cashman said.

He added, "Obviously we have a little more time on the clock there and those conversations will start probably at the next few days."

When asked if he anticipates picking up that option, the GM said, he would let the whole process play out. "I'm a big Aaron Boone fan, I think he's a great manager and we've been lucky to have him," Cashman said. "But, obviously, let's go walk through the process and have the conversations that haven't been had with the people above me."

When asked specifically about discussing an extension with Boone, the GM said that "all of those things will be discussed," but that he "can't put the cart before the horse, we haven't gotten there so we haven't had those discussions."

He added: "I think he's a really, really good manager."

Cashman believed the deadline to exercise the option is 10 days after the World Series.

The GM added that they will make decisions on Boone's coaching staff for next season after handling the manager.

Gleyber Torres' future and options at second base

The 28-year-old has started 888 games for New York over the last seven years, with 601 of them coming at second base. But last season, Torres led the league in errors with 18 – a year after committing 15 – and struggled offensively before finding a bit of his footing in the leadoff hole, finishing the campaign with a pedestrian 101 OPS+ and 104 wRC+.

When asked about improving at second base, Cashman noted there is a "vacancy currently" at the position with Torres a free agent giving the Yankees several ways to approach the offseason.

"What are our internal options? Is that moving Jazz [Chisholm Jr.] over to second if you don't re-sign Gleyber?" he said about the trade deadline acquisition who had to learn to play third base on the fly in the second half of last season.

"Do you move him over to second? Do you look at Caleb Durbin, your internal candidate coming up?" Cashman continued. "Is there external candidates that you run into that you can import as a free agent that might not be Gleyber if it's not Gleyber? Maybe you bring Gleyber back? Is there a trade candidate? Our job is to evaluate all of it and then how it settles in with the rest of the roster. Those are things that we will be doing."

When asked about Chisholm potentially playing in centerfield for the Yankees (he made 192 starts there for the Miami Marlins in the past two seasons), Cashman said he had not had any conversations with Yankee evaluators about his ability for the position there, adding, "I would say, I prefer him on the infield, but I know he can play the outfield."

On Torres, the GM called him a good baseball player and "one of the reasons we got as far as we did" last year but that he wouldn't "dissect" his strengths and weaknesses when asked if his fielding issues would prevent a reunion.

"He'll have a lot of conversations with a lot of teams that have a need in that area and that also might include us, you know, who knows," Cashman said. "But I appreciate his efforts while he was here and he was mashing down the stretch like we needed him to be. But again, everybody has their strengths and weaknesses, but I'm not gonna dissect what's best moving forward.

"We're just obviously gonna make the best decisions we can from what's available from within or outside. We can import a third baseman and move Jazz over, we can promote from within with a guy like Caleb Durbin, for instance, who is crushing it in the Arizona Fall League. We can run into some trade opportunities or free agents. Just not too sure what we're gonna do just yet. But I want to thank Gleyer for the time while he was here without closing any doors, either on a reunion."

Durbin, 24, was acquired in a Dec. 2022 trade with the Atlanta Braves. In 82 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (his first at that level), he had 23 doubles, 10 home runs and 60 RBI with a .287/.396/.471 slash line for a .867 OPS.

On Jasson Dominguez's path to the Opening Day roster

The season did not go the way the Yankees hoped for their top prospect. Coming off Tommy John surgery last fall, Dominguez's return to the field was curtailed by an oblique injury and when he did arrive in the majors in September, inconsistent play in left field and inconsistent at-bats limited his playing time.

As far as the 21-year-old cracking the 2025 Opening Day roster, that depends on the Yankees offseason as they "evaluate all opportunities" for the outfield.

“Obviously, Dominguez missed a lot of time this past year, we’re happy that he’s here with us,” Cashman said. “He’s in a position to potentially take a spot, but then we have to compare that to what else is available to us, too and make those decisions, too.

“I’m not saying he’s guaranteed a position on November, whatever day it is. We’ll wait and see how our winter plays out and what twists and turns comes our way.”