Yankees Rumors: Hal Steinbrenner won’t rule out adding a superstar

Though confident in his current Yankees team, on Thursday from the owners’ meetings in Orlando, Hal Steinbrenner acknowledged the possibility of adding another game-changing player before the start of the 2019 season.

Despite manager Aaron Boone recently stating that the Yankees roster is set to begin the new season, Hal Steinbrenner intimated, should GM Brian Cashman bring him a proposal for a superstar player — he’d listen.

Though Steinbrenner made apparent his excitement about this collection of Yanks — especially in the pitching department, Steinbrenner told fans to keep an open mind, because until Opening Day rolls around, nothing is entirely off the table. Per Newsday:

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I don’t think it’s ever done,” he said. “Look, if somebody comes — I haven’t changed — I mean if somebody comes to me with a suggestion or a proposal, I’m going to seriously consider it right up until Opening Day or after. That’s part of my leave-no-stone-unturned [policy], right?

With Aaron Judge recently making headlines about how he would be willing to accommodate Bryce Harper’s potential arrival to an already crowded Yankee outfield; video evidence of Harper in a batting cage with what appears to be a clean-shaven face; and Steinbrenner at least being open to adding a free agent game-changer, could the stars be aligning for Harper’s unveiling in pinstripes?

As Steinbrenner continued to tell the media, things can change in an instant. What stands as fact today could be very different “17 days” from now.

Proposals come to me every day with these guys, between the analytics guys and the pro scouting guys, and I’m going to consider every single one of them. But I have to look at the big picture, and it is my responsibility that my family expects and my partners expect not just to look at the present but to look at the future, too.

The truth is no one could have foreseen that All-Star’s such as Harper, Manny Machado, Craig Kimbrel, Dallas Keuchel and others, would still be without a team, less than one week from the start of Spring Training.

And with Steinbrenner’s admission that the club’s payroll already stands at $220M — $14M over the luxury tax threshold for 2019 ($206M) — perhaps The Boss’ son will go the extra mile to separate his club from the pack further.