Cashman puts his own legacy on the line by hiring Boone

After it was revealed Friday that Aaron Boone was among six candidates for the New York Yankees' managerial job, few believed the ESPN analyst with zero coaching experience had a real chance to land one of the most coveted jobs in sports.

Many were intrigued by longtime bench coach Rob Thomson, who had served in the Yankees organization since 1989. Then, there was the unexpected inclusion of Carlos Beltran - a recently retired future first-ballot Hall of Famer. Former major-league manager Eric Wedge and Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach Chris Woodward were also in the mix, though it appears neither left as good of an impression as Boone and San Francisco Giants bench coach Hensley Meulens.

Beltran, who's all but guaranteed to become a manager someday, was said to be the second to hear bad news, followed by Woodward and Wedge. That left only Meulens and Boone.

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Many assumed Meulens, a well-liked, seasoned coach who speaks five languages, was the man for the job. Instead, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman threw conventional wisdom out the window by hiring Boone, whose first taste of major-league coaching comes at the helm of the most heralded organization in baseball.

Fans and pundits will repeatedly question Cashman's decision to fire Joe Girardi - a manager coming off a 91-win season, and one shy of a World Series appearance - only to replace him with a former player who's best known for hitting a walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series.

Of all the signings and trades in the coming weeks, few will carry as much risk as the hiring of Boone. For a Yankees team looking to build on a successful 2017 campaign, it remains to be seen if he's the right man for the job.

With a manager in place, it's up to Cashman to continue building a roster that's only expected to get better in 2018. Shohei Ohtani is very much in play for New York, and you can never rule the Yankees out in free agency and the trade market.

Cashman made it clear his next manager would be a players' coach, something Girardi wasn't. His ideal candidate was someone that could guide these young Bronx Bombers, relate to them, and, ultimately, help them win the last game of the season. With so much at stake, Boone's performance is going to be under the microscope constantly. Cashman will either be considered a genius, or will be blamed for handing the keys to a man whose only off-field experience comes in the form of ESPN baseball analysis.

Either way, the move could define Cashman's 19-year tenure in New York.