HOUSTON — Aaron Boone believes an outside review of the Yankees organization, including the team’s use of analytics, would be a “great thing.”
The manager said so on Sunday before the Yankees’ series finale against the Astros. Hal Steinbrenner recently told The Associated Press’ Mark Didtler that such an autopsy could be coming in the offseason.
“We’re going to take a very deep dive into everything we’re doing,” Steinbrenner said earlier this week. “We’re looking to bring in possibly an outside company to really take a look at the analytics side of what we do. Baseball operations in general. We’re going to have some very frank conversions with each other. This year was obviously unacceptable.”
Despite a sky-high payroll, Steinbrenner’s comments came with the Yankees in last place and below .500, the results of poor roster construction, underachieving veterans and injuries. The club is currently focused on evaluating its youth for 2024 and beyond.
In the offseason, however, members of the team’s leadership will be evaluated, if not dismissed, as well. That could include Boone.
“I think it’s something [where] they’re looking at everything,” Boone said of an outside firm potentially reviewing the Yankees. “I think it’s something that we’ve, on some level, wanted to do for years. There’s a lot that goes into going in and breaking down every department. So look, the more oversight you can have on everything you’re doing to try and find that higher ground in everything we do, it’s a great thing.”
The analytical element of Steinbrenner’s comment drew attention, as there are some who believe the Yankees are too reliant on advanced numbers. Others wonder if the Yankees have the right people analyzing that data, as plenty of successful teams have used analytics for years.
Boone, however, downplayed that aspect of what Steinbrenner said.
“I think it’s checking on everything,” Boone said. “Analytics is all a part of that.”
HAMILTON HURT AGAIN
The Yankees placed Ian Hamilton on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Aug. 31, with a right groin strain on Sunday. Fellow right-handed reliever Greg Weissert replaced him on the roster.
Hamilton felt his groin grab while warming up in the bullpen during Saturday’s game. The same injury cost Hamilton six weeks earlier this season, but Boone said that the “early feeling right now is that he’ll be back” this year.
“Probably not as bad as last time is the feeling,” Boone said, adding that Hamilton will likely undergo testing on Monday. “Although last time wasn’t that bad. He just reaggravated it a few days in last time. So hopefully something that he’ll be able to come back from this year.”
Hamilton, a non-roster invitee in spring training, has been a huge success story for the Yankees this season. The 28-year-old has a 2.24 ERA over 52.1 innings and has pitched in a variety of roles out of the bullpen.
TORRES IN THE OUTFIELD?
A report recently stated that the Yankees could consider moving Gleyber Torres to the outfield, but Boone said that that idea hasn’t come across his desk.
That said, the skipper believes the second baseman could handle the switch if needed. Moving Torres to, let’s say left field, would theoretically allow the Yankees to keep the 26-year-old while opening second base for an even younger infielder, like Oswald Peraza.
“He could do a lot of things,” Boone said of Torres. “So that’s maybe for another day, but I had not heard that.”
THE LATEST ON RIZZO
Boone said that Anthony Rizzo (post-concussion syndrome) has not had a setback. The first baseman has been doing baseball activities in New York, and the Yankees plan on sitting down with him when they get back home.
Boone has said that the team’s place in the standings won’t influence a decision on whether or not to shut Rizzo down for the rest of the season. On Sunday, Boone added that the team’s youth movement hasn’t come into play in that regard either.