With Major League Baseball’s new five-year collective-bargaining agreement in place, the Yankees can officially begin their offseason business.
According to a report by the New York Daily News, the Yankees had been “staying put” until a new collective-bargaining agreement was settled, waiting to see how it would impact the franchise’s financial position.
With the luxury tax threshold rising from $189 million to $195 million in 2017, and to $197 million in 2018, New York has a fair chance to trim its payroll beneath that mark within the next two seasons.
But there is no guarantee heavy spending will come this winter, according to Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, who spoke with YES Network’s Meredith Marakovits in the second part of a two-part interview which aired Thursday night on the “Yankees Hot Stove” program.
“When we have money come off, we do everything we can to put as much of it back into the team as possible,” Steinbrenner said. “Having said that, I’ve always said that I want to lower payroll cause I don’t believe if you have a good mix of veterans, mentors and young kids, you need a 200 plus million dollar payroll. So it’s going to be a combination of both, but there’s no doubt we’re going to be putting money back into this team. My family’s always done that when possible.”
Steinbrenner also appeared reticent to exhibit any interest in pursuing trades that would force the Yankees to ship away any touted prospects, such as catcher Gary Sanchez, shortstop Gleyber Torres, or outfielder Clint Frazier.
“There’s been a lot of trade deadlines the last four years where [Brian Cashman] and I have said, ‘no no no no no.’ I don’t see that changing right now,” Steinbrenner said. “But every deal is different. If it’s the right trade that we really feel we need to do, then I will always consider anything. But I think the record speaks for itself. We’re all excited about these young guys and we want to see them progress either at the major league level or work toward the major league level.”
The next two or three seasons could show growing pains for the Yankees, who will begin to balance an assortment of youth and veteran presence on the field. But the change in scenery is intriguing to Steinbrenner, who has absorbed the optimism from outside New York’s front office.
“There’s a great vibe around here,” Steinbrenner said. “I know from social media, I know there are younger fans, all of our fans are excited about seeing these guys that we’ve been talking about year after year–it’s good to hear. I think everybody likes the direction we’re going, but these young kids have to keep coming and they have to perform.
“Every year is new hope, but this is as excited as I have been in a while. We are a great product, but we’re an unproven product, still.”
