Weaver's Hurt & It's Boone's Fault? For Sure

Turns out I’m not alone in thinking Aaron Boone manages the Yankees like a guy trying to assemble IKEA furniture without the manual — just winging it and hoping the thing doesn’t collapse. This time, the voice of reason comes from Stacey Gotsulias, host of Locked On Yankees, and the focus is on Boone’s newest toy he’s already broken: Luke Weaver. You know, the guy who accidentally became the closer because Devin Williams forgot how to throw a baseball in the ninth inning without triggering a collective fan anxiety attack.

Now, to be fair, I didn’t immediately panic when Weaver started showing up like a punch card employee—clocking in night after night. My thought was, “Eh, he’s young, he can take it.” But then pop goes the hamstring and suddenly the Yankees’ bullpen plan is looking like a Jenga tower missing half its pieces.

Gotsulias made a solid point this week, saying:

“This is a blessing in disguise. You don’t want Luke Weaver to be hurt, but… I would much rather have a fresher Luke Weaver in the playoffs than what could possibly happen if he plays all the way through. You’re already seeing Boone overusing him, and it’s early June…”

Exactly. It’s June. JUNE. And Boone’s already grinding guys into dust like it’s October 28th with Game 7 on the line.

Let’s be real: Aaron Boone’s postseason strategy can best be described as “panic and pray.” He treats every close game like he’s playing MLB The Show on rookie mode — and still somehow loses. He overthinks, overmanages, and overwrites his own disaster scripts. Come crunch time, he’s the guy you don’t want holding the bullpen phone.

So yes, overusing Weaver is a red flag. A big, flaming red flag being waved at high speed from a speeding train called October Collapse. And if the Yankees make it to the postseason, this kind of misuse is exactly what we’ll be talking about when they’re bounced early. Again.

Essentially Sports pointed out just how ridiculous it’s been:

“Weaver’s heavy workload was there for all to see. In just five weeks, he pitched in 20 of the team’s 37 games… He was used in three straight games in mid-May and threw multiple innings four times in a single 10-day stretch. For a reliever who wasn’t groomed to be a closer and had a history of injuries, that kind of usage was asking for trouble.”

And trouble RSVP’d right on time. Now Weaver’s hamstring is on vacation until mid-July, the bullpen is in shambles, and we’re right back to “Hey, maybe Williams won’t melt down this time!” as our best option.

Boone should’ve known better. This isn’t some plug-and-play robot — it’s Luke Weaver, not Mariano Rivera. You don’t just drop a guy into the ninth inning night after night like he’s been doing it since Little League. Even Mariano had a transition period. It’s called “building a closer,” Boone — not burning him out like a Yankee Candle.

The Yankees are now scrambling like a bad improv troupe, hoping someone — anyone — can hold the ninth inning together. And let’s not sugarcoat it: This is on Boone. All of it. The injury, the overuse, the lack of foresight — it’s the Boone blueprint in action. He’s the kind of manager who pours gasoline on a campfire and then looks surprised when it explodes.

And here’s the terrifying part: If Weaver goes down, and Judge goes down? This team is cooked. Charred. Done. Boone’s complete lack of balance and long-term thinking is already costing us, and it’s only going to get worse.

So yeah, Luke Weaver’s hamstring might’ve snapped — but the real problem? Aaron Boone’s still intact.