When the Yankees hired Sean Casey to be their hitting coach during the All-Star break, the two sides said the former first baseman’s contract covered the rest of the 2023 season.
Once the year ended, Casey — who replaced Dillon Lawson — and the Yankees planned on seeing where things stood. With less than a month left in the season, Casey said that that’s still the plan — and that he hasn’t looked ahead to 2024 yet.
“I haven’t totally thought about it yet,” Casey told the Daily News when asked if he would like to return next season. “I’m just really in it right now, just kind of trying to enjoy every day I’m here. When that comes, I’ll evaluate and just take a look at it and see what it looks like.”
Of course, coming back isn’t just up to Casey, and it could also depend on whether Aaron Boone returns. Even if the manager does, Brian Cashman — who made Lawson the first in-season firing of his career — could choose to move in a different direction.
After all, the Yankees offense has not been much different under Casey’s watch compared to Lawson’s, which ended with the first half of the season.
Prior to the All-Star break, the Yankees were 29th in hits (690), 28th in average (.231), 26th in on-base percentage (.300) and 21st in wRC+ (95). Entering Wednesday’s 4-3 win over the Tigers, the Yankees were 30th in hits (337), 29th in average (.220), 22nd in on-base percentage (.307) and 18th in wRC+ (95) since the break and Casey’s arrival.
“No, the numbers haven’t changed,” Cashman acknowledged a few weeks back. But the general manager said that Casey was connecting with players in a way that Lawson had not. Boone has also praised Casey’s ability to gel with players.
In fairness to Casey, he had the disadvantage of playing catch-up after starting the job mid-season. “Those first couple weeks, I was like, ‘Whoa!’ he said. “I mean, this is a new world.”
Meanwhile, individuals like Anthony Volpe and DJ LeMahieu have improved since Casey joined the team.
“I relate to him really well,” LeMahieu recently said. “Great positive energy, great guy, and he’s great to talk hitting with.”
While his future is unsettled, Casey is liking the job, one he had never held before Boone, a friend and former Reds teammate, asked him to sign on. Casey had wanted to get back in the dugout after a 12-year playing career and a long tenure at MLB Network, and timing with the Yankees worked out this summer after they previously courted him in the offseason. At the time, the health of his father and fiancée prevented him from filling an assistant hitting coach position.
Casey has relished the opportunity to bond with fellow hitters and has been trying to share the wisdom that Ken Griffey Sr. and Dave Magadan, two of his former hitting coaches, imparted on him.
“Those first couple weeks, my head was spinning just coming in,” Casey said. “I’m really enjoying it now. Really having a relationship with all these guys and being able to settle in with them and talk to them about hitting and really get to know them, what their strengths and weaknesses are, what their approach is at the plate. Being able to talk process with them and things like that.
“It’s just been so much fun. I’m just really enjoying this so much.”
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