Aaron Boone ended up playing a bigger part in Brad Ausmus’s path back to Houston than most people probably expected.
The Astros’ decision to hire Ausmus as their new manager was shaped in part by conversations Randy Flores had with Boone, according to The Athletic’s Chandler Rome. Flores wanted a clearer picture of how Ausmus had grown during his time with the Yankees, where he spent three seasons as Boone’s bench coach from 2024 through 2026.
That stretch in New York mattered because it gave Ausmus another chance to rebuild his managerial reputation. He had already had two rough runs at the top level, first with the Detroit Tigers from 2014 to 2017 and then with the Los Angeles Angels in 2019. Across those stops, his teams went 386-422, and neither job produced the kind of results he was looking for.
Still, Houston saw enough in what Ausmus had become to make him the franchise’s 21st manager after Joe Espada’s departure. Flores, Rome reported, believed the time in New York showed a different version of Ausmus - one who had taken lessons from those earlier setbacks.
“A lot of what went into Randy Flores wanting to explore Brad Ausmus as a candidate was talking to Aaron Boone about some of the things he saw about how Brad Ausmus evolved in New York,” Rome said.
"Brad Ausmus’s first two managerial stints did not go well. Record-wise, optics-wise, there was a lot of bad stuff ...
But you are allowed to get better at this, and that is what Randy Flores essentially is banking on here. He and Brad Ausmus had some pretty honest conversation about how he has evolved since going to New York… One of the things Randy Flores said about him is that he has learned how to handle the media from Aaron Boone.”
Ausmus’s time with Boone wasn’t just a passive stopover, either. He worked closely with the Yankees staff, including during spring training alongside major league field coordinator Tanner Swanson. That day-to-day exposure gave Houston another layer of confidence in him.
There’s also a built-in Astros connection that made the fit easier to see. Ausmus spent 10 of his 18 major league seasons as a catcher in Houston, and he also has a longstanding friendship with Hall of Famer and senior adviser Jeff Bagwell.
His move to Houston leaves another ripple effect behind in New York. Ausmus is out of Boone’s staff, and Swanson has also left to become the Seattle Mariners’ bench coach. That means Boone and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman now have multiple coaching spots to sort out before next season.
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