Yankees Will Look to Slip Under Luxury Tax Threshold

According to a recent report by Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, the Yankees will look to save money over the next two offseasons in hopes of spending big in the future.

The one thing nine out of ten Yankees fans can agree upon is the fact this team needed to get younger in a hurry–which they did.

Now, though, the same folks that called for the extradition of Alex Rodriguez, and the possible replacement of Joe Girardi are split on whether or not Brian Cashman and company should spend the money necessary to add some mid-level talent to bolster what’s already in place for 2017, or wait for the free agent pool to deepen with the superstars.

Well, according to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, the people responsible for making these tough decisions for the Yankees have likely already cast their vote.

All signs point to the suddenly frugal Yankees holding their chips over the span of the next two seasons in hopes of falling below the luxury tax threshold–so that they can better position themselves for a huge free agent splurge in the winter of 2018.

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You read that correctly–don’t expect this organization to spend much of anything on reinforcements for two more years. Remember, back to last winter, when the coupon clipping first began. Fans and media were shocked then–well what about now?

The saving grace is that the next CBA is likely to see the luxury tax threshold jump to well over $200MM. Doing so would reset the Yankees’ penalty rate, allowing them to open up any reserves accumulated before then to potentially spend freely on one of the deepest free agent periods in league history; headlined by such all-stars as Clayton Kershaw, Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and Nolan Arenado.

Another reason for an optimistically lucrative winter of 2018, is the fact that the massive contracts of Alex Rodriguez ($21MM) and CC Sabathia ($25MM) officially come off the books. So while the Yankees could possibly fall below the luxury tax threshold a year sooner via these huge contracts running out, the allure of waiting another calendar year for a once in a generation type guy would probably be too much for the front office to jump the gun.

In 2018, the Yankees will still be on the hook for an estimated $95MM (not counting arbitration eligible players). In 2019, that number significantly drops to $57MM.

So expect the next few seasons to be a roller coaster of emotions, especially with the TBD arrival of another batch of young, exciting–albeit inexperienced prospects (Clint Frazier, Gleyber Torres, Jorge Mateo, Chance Adams, Jordan Montgomery, etc.).

Next: The Passing of Jose Fernandez

I for one just hope that a few of these kids pan out, so that when the Yankees do decide to open their wallets–be it in 2019 or beyond, that some of the big name free agents actually find the Yankees a legitimate team that is ready to challenge for another slew of World Series titles.