The New York Yankees could be eliminated from the playoffs as soon as Wednesday night if the Tampa Bay Rays complete a three-game sweep of the Yankees in the American League Divisional Series. 

Predictably, how the Bronx Bombers lost Game 2 of the series to the Rays sparked new conversations about the futures of Yankees senior vice president/general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone. During a Tuesday appearance on CBS Sports HQ, MLB insider Jim Bowden suggested that Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner has already made his decisions about the statuses of Cashman and Boone. 

Brian Cashman, Aaron Boone safe regardless of Rays series?

"Both will be back next year," Bowden said about Cashman and Boone. "That's not even a question or a debate." 

Bowden's update isn't all that surprising. Cashman first became the Yankees general manager in 1998, and it's often been joked that he has a "lifetime contract" under Steinbrenner. On Aug. 31, Ian O'Connor of The Athletic revealed that Cashman "is expected to sign yet another deal" with the Yankees. Cashman's existing contract expires at the end of the season. 

As for Boone, he is signed through the 2027 season and has repeatedly been backed by Cashman, Steinbrenner and team captain Aaron Judge  over the years. This season, Boone has been without Judge for all but seven games since June 1 due to injury setbacks. It's unclear whether Judge could return from the "moderate" calf strain he suffered on Sept. 16 to play in the AL Championship Series if the Yankees complete a comeback against the Rays. 

Aaron Boone still highly regarded within Yankees

Under Boone, the Yankees have made playoff appearances in eight of nine seasons. That said, he received criticism for mistakes he and his players made during the 2024 World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. More recently, Boone's squad was charged with four errors in the Game 2 loss at the Rays on Monday night that put the Yankees on the brink of elimination. 

Nevertheless, WFAN host Craig Carton said on Tuesday that "every single person I've talked to in the Yankee organization over the last two weeks to 30 days will tell you to your face...'This [season] is the greatest managerial job [Boone] has done'" while serving as the club's skipper.

It sounds like Bowden has heard similar comments. 

"The leadership group of the Yankees is going to stay intact regardless of the outside noise -- which, by the way, Hal Steinbrenner could care less about the outside noise," Bowden added.