Yankees' projected arbitration salaries for 2026 reveal a lot of dead weight

It's long been known that New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner looks at the club as more of a business than a passion than his father did. Steinbrenner has at points in time questioned whether the club really needed a $200 million — and now more recently $300 million payroll — to win a championship.

Fans, meanwhile, have been frustrated by the owner's willingness to approach the top tax threshold, but not surpass it, citing concerns about the organization's bottom line. That has led general manager Brian Cashman to make some moves, and more importantly, develop habits that, on the surface, look like they can squeeze every last drop in the bucket (but often backfire in the long run).

One such habit is extending out contracts for longer than the player's productive shelf life as a means to lower the AAV, and thus, how much it counts towards the luxury tax. That's why you saw Max Fried sign for eight years and $218 million while Corbin Burnes, who is a year younger (and at the time more durable and arguably better), signed a six-year deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. It's also why the Yankees' 2026 payroll will have $16 million going towards players who no longer play for the team ($15 million for DJ LeMahieu, and $1 million left over that is due to Aaron Hicks).

It's also why Cashman has preferred trade targets with years of control, seemingly happy to acquire assets in their arbitration years over half-season deadline rentals. And that's the topic of today's conversation, as MLB Trade Rumors released its arbitration predictions. The Yankees have some problems regarding club-controlled players.

The Yankees could be spending a lot of money on players who will contribute nothing in 2026

Small market teams are often willing to deal non-star players who are entering arbitration in order to cut costs, and they've usually found a willing customer in Brian Cashman and the Yankees. Sometimes, that works out beautifully, as is the case with Jazz Chisholm Jr. Often, it does not.

Next season, the Yankees will have more than their fair share of players who, either due to injury or ineffectiveness, won't contribute to the team's success. Yet thanks to arbitration, they won't come cheap.

That's not counting $6.6 million to Camilo Doval, who might not be worth that price, as well as $1.2 million for Oswald Cabrera, and $3.9 million to Anthony Volpe. Those guys are debatable, but the six guys in the table above certainly won't be contributing to the 2026 club, and only Schmidt stands out as a quality player, who, unfortunately, will not be available due to injury.

Combine that nearly $11.5 million for these six non-contributors with the whopping $16 million that'll be shelled out to players who are no longer on the team, and you have almost $27.5 million in wasted funds. That's slightly more than one year of Max Fried's salary!

These gambits are the reason why the Yankees went into the 2025 season without a third baseman, and then compounded the mistake by acquiring a very average one at the deadline who comes with two more years of "control" at $16 million apiece.

For all of Steinbrenner's talk about payroll and running a business responsibly, the Yankees sure throw a lot of dollars down the drain (or arrive at precarious situations like this) in their efforts to save a nickel.

There's nothing wrong with taking advantage of the arbitration process to find talent at below-market rates, but blindly hoarding fringe roster pieces and watching their salaries consistently rise while their usefulness declines isn't sound business, especially when a rental trade acquisition would cost less overall and likely have a greater impact.

In their quest for efficiency, the Yankees have repeatedly shot themselves in the foot. Now it's time to take a hard look and see how they can pivot in strategy moving forward.