David Cone, John Flaherty want to be considered as the next Yankees manager (2025)

NEW YORK – YES, they’ve tossed their hats in the ring.

David Cone and John Flaherty have each expressed interest in the Yankees’ managerial vacancy, willing to discuss leaving the relative safety of the YES broadcast booth for one of MLB’s hottest dugout seats.

So far, neither ex-Yankee has been told he’s made general manager Brian Cashman’s list of candidates.

“I wouldn’t turn down an interview if one came my way, that’s for sure,’’ said Cone, speaking Wednesday night at Joe Torre’s 15th annual Safe at Home Foundation gala. “It’s a difficult job, it’s a prestigious job. I know there’s a process in place to find the right guy.’’

Cone wouldn’t detail his conversation with Cashman about wanting to be considered for the job, “but he didn’t say no – as of yet,’’ Cone said.

Flaherty recently informed Cashman of his interest, via his agent, but hasn’t yet received a response.

“That’s fine. I just wanted Cash to know that I’m in a time in my life that I would be interested,’’ Flaherty said at Wednesday’s event. “And whatever happens from there, I’m totally fine with.’’

On Wednesday, Yankees bench coach Rob Thomson was the first to be interviewed for the manager’s post.

It’s been two weeks since Joe Girardi was let go after 10 seasons as manager, coming off a surprising 2017 in which his club finished one win shy of a World Series appearance.

“I was shocked. I didn’t see that one coming,’’ Flaherty said of Girardi’s dismissal. “We thought he might have been burnt out, might be looking for a change.

“And when you saw how the season ended, how he was into it, I was shocked the way the whole thing went down.’’

Jorge Posada figured Girardi would be managing in pinstripes a while longer, too.

“He’s done a heck of a job. It’s tough to see,’’ said Posada, who had his differences with Girardi late in his Yankees career. “I have no idea what happened there.’’

But scratch the idea of Posada being a managerial candidate, or even a coach.

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“No, I’m having a good time at home, I’m enjoying what I’m doing – not doing much and picking here and there the things I want to do,’’ Posada said.

Flaherty, 50, said a big-league coaching staff position “would be intriguing’’ to him and he wouldn’t reject the idea of managing in the minors either.

After broadcasting for 12 years, and with his kids now older, the former big-league catcher said he’s “open to a lot of things,’’ including positions outside of New York. “But I’m very happy with the YES Network and with what I’ve been doing there.

“But there’s always been a desire to get back on the field,’’ Flaherty said. “It’s something I’ve thought about for a long time.’’

Having been a frontline starting pitcher on five world championship teams – the last four with the Yankees – the 54-year-old Cone said he embraced the analytic side of the game years ago, when his agent Steve Fehr used advanced metrics in his arbitration and contract negotiations.

“I understand how to strike the balance between old school and new school,’’ Cone said. “You can’t be leveraged one way or the other too much, otherwise you lose the clubhouse. You lose dealing with human beings. There’s more to it than just numbers, obviously.’’

With a younger dynamic in the Yankees clubhouse, on a club poised for a long run of pennant contention, Cashman cited communication and connectivity issues as primary reasons for cutting ties with Girardi.

“I thought Joe Girardi did an amazing job,’’ Flaherty said. “You hear that, from the outside looking in, the communication with the young players maybe wasn’t that great, but that’s all speculation.

“I think today’s manager is obviously different. (Astros manager) A.J. Hinch is getting a lot of praise for his relationship with the front office, with analytics and how he can relate to the players.

“So, I think that’s going to be kind of a model moving forward for the modern-age manager.’’