MLB WINTER MEETINGS

December 6, 2022

Aaron Boone

New York Yankees

Press Conference

Q. Did you talk to him since you talked to him yesterday?

AARON BOONE: I have not, no.

Q. What was the reaction like among the team when you saw the report and then you saw the report pulled, what was the reaction?

AARON BOONE: So I actually was in the shower getting ready to go through my media stuff. So I was up in my room. Then went down to meet Zillo in the room, and a lot of unknown right now.

Q. Is the general sense that you guys believe that you're still in the race for him?

AARON BOONE: Yeah, we haven't heard anything. I know it's been obviously an ongoing negotiation. Obviously that's more for Cash and Hal and stuff. But that's been my understanding of it.

Q. Hypothetically speaking, if he doesn't come back, how different is it going to be?

AARON BOONE: That's hypothetical. You're speculating. I don't even want to go there yet, but at the end of the day, we're the New York Yankees, and we've always got to be in position to do everything we can to try and be the best we can be.

Different things come up all the time that you lose out on things, you get certain things. So the task never stops in trying to improve and trying to become the best team we can be. Hopefully that involves Aaron.

Q. Is it your hope that, if Aaron comes to a decision, that he decides, hey, let me know -- let the Yankees know, bring a final offer to you guys? Do you hope you guys get the last chance at an offer?

AARON BOONE: Oh, sure, yeah. Again that's probably more of a question for Cash, but yeah. Hopefully you have that certainty and you get to that point.

Q. How different is this for you, this week, this off-season, given the sort of magnitude of uncertainty? Like are you sort of business as usual and just waiting to see how that plays out, or is there a lot contingent on that?

AARON BOONE: Obviously these last couple days and the Winter Meetings always provide that kind of sense of urgency and the whole industry here and a lot of the conversations that have gone on starting back in the GM meetings start to come to fruition here.

Obviously we have an amazing player, an amazing person that's a free agent for us. So that becomes a little bit more of a big deal, especially in these few days.

Q. But does it sort of affect your day to day? Is there a checklist of things you need to do in the off-season regardless?

AARON BOONE: No. My day to day is -- you know, every year's different. You're working on different things. But no, it's fairly similar because in the end I'm not negotiating the deal. So my off-season's fairly similar.

Q. Aaron, you've talked about the close relationship that you had with Judge since you took over as manager. Can you characterize all the conversations you've had with him this off-season? You told us yesterday you've spoken to him.

AARON BOONE: I really haven't spoken to him any more or less than I normally would in an off-season. Obviously the end of the season always kind of ends abruptly, and everyone kind of goes their separate ways.

So my dealings in this case with Aaron are a text message here and there. We had a conversation on the phone a few days ago. Those are kind of normal, in line with, as we sit here in early December, the normal interactions I would have with him during the course of an off-season.

Obviously it's a different situation this off-season than in the past with him being a free agent, but my interaction with him have been fairly normal.

Q. What are your thoughts on Tommy Kahnle returning?

AARON BOONE: There's nothing official there yet. Tommy's a guy that I think was a beloved guy in our room. He's got a big personality but was also an outstanding pitcher for us.

He's come back from Tommy John surgery. He pitched really well for the Dodgers at the end of the season. So he's a guy with a number of talented relievers out there, we certainly feel like he has returned to his form.

Q. In mid-November, Hal Steinbrenner said that his impression was he believes, he thinks that Aaron Judge wants to be a Yankee. Is that the impression you've gotten in your conversations with him?

AARON BOONE: I've always felt that way with Aaron, and I always feel like he certainly belongs in pinstripes, and a guy of his stature and his greatness hopefully spends his entire career into Monument Park and into the Hall of Fame as a Yankee.

He certainly feels that way, and that would be the hope.

Q. How aware were you of Aaron's disappointment in the franchise publicizing the offer that he ultimately turned down?

AARON BOONE: I knew a little bit. He and I talked a little bit about it right at the season's end, kind of walked through that a little bit. So I knew that he was a little disappointed about that.

Q. Why do you think that came up again after the season between you two?

AARON BOONE: I don't know. We talked at length that last night. It's just one of the things we talked about, but I don't think it was anything intended to be a tactic or anything. It was intended to be, because we knew it was going to be constantly speculated on and out there, and we just didn't want that to be the case. We kind of wanted to run to the situation.

Q. Did his disappointment in that becoming public, though, and talking about it again, did that give you any cause for concern about how the off-season might go?

AARON BOONE: No. I think the negotiation is going to be what it is. No, I don't think that's a factor in anything going on.

Q. Aaron, having played in both New York and Cincinnati, small markets, what's the big advantage of playing in New York and disadvantage compared to a smaller market?

AARON BOONE: In what context?

Q. As a player.

AARON BOONE: Well, the advantages are typically in a bigger market you have greater financial resources to do certain things. I don't know, but every place is unique. When I was in Cincinnati, it felt like a really big deal and a baseball town and it really mattered to the people.

I certainly have felt that way as a New York Yankee probably on a greater scale.

Q. Have there been any change in LeMahieu's injury status?

AARON BOONE: He's doing really well. We're encouraged by how he's doing. He's in Tampa right now. I think he was scheduled to see the doctor today as another check on the foot. I actually talked to D.J. about five or six days ago, and I think he was really encouraged by how he's doing and the time down has kind of helped him.

So he's been running and taking ground balls, and I think he's been encouraged by how he's doing. I know Timmy Lentych, our trainer, was encouraged after getting eyes on him, seeing him yesterday.

So we're optimistic, and hopefully he continues to move in that direction.

Q. Aaron, a month ago when Hal spoke to us at the owners meetings, he said how he had spoken to Aaron a number of times after the season ended because he wanted to let him know how important it was for him to stay and how important he was to Hal. It's a big effort to speak to him multiple times. Is there anything -- I know you don't write the checks obviously. What can you do as kind of the incumbent team? Is that a hard thing to do to kind of -- you just have to kind of assume that he likes being where he is and it's kind of the other teams that do the courting type of stuff, right?

AARON BOONE: Yeah, I think it's a little bit different when you're trying to -- just recently in recent memory, obviously when we signed Garrett, you're introducing them to an organization. So you're trying to get out information about the organization, about the city, about the area, about the team, and different things. So you're trying to educate in that way.

Obviously when it's a guy that's been there as long as Aaron has and has grown up in the organization, that's a little bit different. You're not recruiting in that sense. So definitely different.

Q. Do you wonder if there's any other things you could have done? Hal obviously kept at it personally like that. I guess there's nothing else -- like did you feel like there's anything you could have done? You already know Aaron really well.

AARON BOONE: I don't know. You just try and be as authentic as you can. Everyone has a role. The tense you're talking in, I don't like. Hopefully that changes.

Q. I'm just saying everyone is at the edge of the razor, right? There's nothing you can really do at this point.

AARON BOONE: Yeah, I think it's ultimately going to come down to what you're committing.

Q. It's always been assumed, but is it automatic that (indiscernible) returns?

AARON BOONE: Those will be conversations we have.

Q. So when you heard the news that he was signed or whatever, you had those uncomfortable couple of minutes, what did you do? Did you call Cash?

AARON BOONE: I was just getting out of the shower and getting dressed, and I called Cash and said, What's going on? He said, Nothing. Ten minutes later, I was down in the suite meeting Zillo.