Former Yankees pitcher Lance Lynn defends Aaron Boone

Aaron Boone has been catching all kinds of heat for the Yankees’ recent struggles, but former pitcher Lance Lynn is stepping to the manager’s defense.

“If it needs to be addressed, he is addressing it,” the longtime pitcher said Monday on the “Foul Territory” podcast. “He’s not gonna talk through the media, he’s not gonna tell you what’s going on in the clubhouse. He played the game, he played at a very high level. He knows how it works. Whatever happens in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse.”

Boone has caught blowback from fans who are frustrated that he has not held his players more accountable after mistakes, but Lynn is certain that the manager is doing his job – behind closed doors.

“Positive he’s addressing everything that’s going wrong with the players, and the players are addressing it too, but they’re not gonna tell you about it,” Lynn said. “Because the more that gets out in New York, the worse it gets.”

Lynn, who enjoyed a 15-year MLB career, played for Boone on the Yankees in 2018 after getting traded midway through that season.

The Yankees are on a four-game skid and are 8-19 in their 27 games, dropping them to third place in the American League East. 

But no matter the struggles, Lynn said he sees no benefit in the manager walking into a press conference and lambasting his players.

“They would rather you say, ‘Oh, you’re not doing enough than ‘Oh, he’s blowing people up,’ and there’s more of a story there and things leaking out of the clubhouse, and that causes more problems than what’s going on,” Lynn said. “They know what’s wrong, they know how to fix it and they’ve addressed it. But the problem with the fans and the media and all that, they want to know what’s said and how it was said.

“And we all know from the best clubhouses we’ve been in, they stay in-house and no one knows what’s going on and you write it yourself.”

Lynn was a consistently impactful starter in his long career, and he notched All-Star appearances with the Cardinals in 2012 and with the White Sox in 2021. 

He also won the World Series with St. Louis in 2011.