Hal Steinbrenner during a press conference at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jessica Alcheh-USA TODAY Sports
Hal Steinbrenner continued to sound like an owner of a mid-market ballclub rather than the juggernaut New York Yankees when he tried to pump the brakes on the perception that his team is making profits.
“I don’t want to get into it, but that’s not a fair statement or an accurate statement,” Steinbrenner said. “Everybody wants to talk about revenues. They need to talk about our expenses, including the $100 million expense to the City of New York that we have to pay every Feb. 1, including the COVID year. So it all starts to add up in a hurry.”
If the Yankees, one of the most recognizable brands on the entire planet, are not making money, then Major League Baseball is doomed.
The unbelievable statement only helped set up what had been Steinbrenner’s constant tune in recent years: He wants to decrease the team’s payroll.
“Would it be ideal if [the payroll] went down? Of course,” Steinbrenner said. “But does that mean that’s going to happen? Of course not. We want to field a team we know can win a championship, or we believe could win a championship. It all depends on what’s out there and what the possibilities are and how much I feel we’re able or we need to pull the trigger on those possibilities.”
Considering where the Yankees’ books are at right now, before getting into the thick of hot-stove season, it does not look like he’ll get his wish.
The Yankees simply need more to legitimately contend for a first World Series title since 2009, and it was made clear by the gulf in class between them and their division rivals, the Toronto Blue Jays, who took care of them without much of an issue in the ALDS last month.
New York’s payroll was at $319 million last season, and after retaining Trent Grisham with a $22 million qualifying offer and re-signing reliever Ryan Yarbrough to a $2.5 million deal, Spotrac currently has an estimated $212.5 million on its books.
Yankees brass has already made it clear that bringing back Cody Bellinger is a top priority, but they are going to have significant competition for his signature, meaning the veteran outfielder could sign a deal somewhere around the $30 million per year mark (likely a bit lower).
During the franchise’s glory days, that would not be enough support to give reigning MVP Aaron Judge. This is a team that once boasted All-Star-caliber lineups at every position, and should very well reassume that approach. But this is Hal running the team, not George, and profit margins appear to be more important than actually winning.
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