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Despite widespread speculation to the contrary, New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said on Wednesday that he anticipates Aaron Boone will return in 2023 for his sixth season as manager of the team. 

"As far as Boone's concerned, we just signed him and for all the same reasons I listed a year ago, I believe he is a very good manager," Steinbrenner told Mark Didtler of the Associated Press. "I don't see a change there."

Boone was signed to a three-year deal in October 2021 with a team option for 2025.

The Yankees are coming off a 2022 season in which they won 99 games and the American League East, the toughest division in MLB this season. However, after surviving a five-game series against the Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS, Boone and the Yankees were swept by the Houston Astros in the ALCS. That season-ending flop led to very visible frustrations among fans, some of which was directed at Boone. While Steinbrenner may have left open a very narrow out in his phrasing of "don't see a change there," he at the same time strongly indicates Boone will be back in the Yankee dugout. 

In five seasons at the helm, Boone has guided the Yankees to a record of 427-281 (.603) with a pair of division titles and postseason berths each year. However, in the postseason, the Yankees under Boone have a cumulative record 14-17, and they've yet to advance past the ALCS. Boone's success in the regular season with the Yankees is largely unassailable, but the standard for MLB's flagship franchise on some level will always be what happens in October. Speaking of which, the Yankees haven't won the World Series since 2009, which qualifies as a drought for them. 

Now that the Boone question has seemingly been resolved, full attention will be granted to slugger Aaron Judge's upcoming free agency and whether the Yankees will be willing to re-sign him.