In the grand scheme of things, Yankees chairman Hal Steinbrenner and general manager Brian Cashman are on the same page.
Both directorates believe the franchise has laid the foundation for a future with long-lasting success, sculpted around several young rookies and prospects such as Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin, to name a few. But the Yankees’ brain trust has several other members, including its co-chairman, who’s also confident in the plans put into action.
Hank Steinbrenner, the older brother of Hal, told the Associated Press on Thursday that when the “face of the Yankees’ next dynasty” begins to win consistently, the front office will also start pursuing big-ticket items with help from its checkbook.
“Once we get it there, we’ll keep it there and we will spend to do so,” Steinbrenner said at a news conference to introduce their partnership with racing star Michael Andretti in the Indy Lights Series. “We will spend to do so.”
The Steinbrenner brothers will be entering a financial system that their father wasn’t exposed to. With the new collective bargaining agreement enforced, the luxury tax threshold will rise from $189 million to $195 million in 2017, and to $197 million in 2018, which is going to give the Yankees a fair chance to trim their payroll beneath that mark within the next two seasons. Revenue sharing has also forced New York to make alterations to the structure of its roster, but with the implementation of home-grown players and touted prospects such as shortstop Gleyber Torres, left-hander Justus Sheffield and outfielder Clint Frazier, baseball’s new way of business could lean in the Yankees’ favor.
“Revenue sharing is a sore point with me, not necessarily the Yankees, just me,” Steinbrenner said. “My dad didn’t have revenue sharing. But our fans love home-grown players who come through the system. They get very attached to those players.
“It is different being a Yankee than it is playing for any other team. We try to focus on finding players who can handle that situation. We don’t expect them to have any more pressure than any other young players, but it is different being a Yankee.”
New York will have no choice but to adjust and adapt, but winning cures all, of course, especially in terms of attendance and television ratings.
“Winning does a lot for that, and winning big does a lot for that,” Steinbrenner said. “It’s what we all want.”
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