Falling short of payroll expectations
Cutting payroll after a World Series appearance is embarassing
It’s just about impossible to be anything but dissatisfied with the Yankees’ offseason. Losing Juan Soto will do that. That said, expectations remain high for the club after a World Series appearance. The American League seems thin, Aaron Judge is still the best hitter in baseball, and the pitching staff looks stellar. The foundation for another pennant exists, but instead of solidifying it, the Yankees are once again choosing austerity.
As of today, the Yankees’ projected 2025 payroll plus luxury tax bill is roughly $26 million lower than last year. Meanwhile, the club is still looking to cut costs, primarily to get out of the top luxury tax tier. It’s no secret that Marcus Stroman, who’s owed $18.5 million this year, is on the trade block. Even if the Yankees are merely looking to reallocate the money due to Stroman, we’re still talking about a slash in team payroll. After a World Series run, with all possible home gates, no less. Pretty frustrating, I must say.
Some numbers: According to Cot's Contracts, the Yankees’ estimated final 2024 payroll (total dollars, not for luxury tax purposes) was approximately $310 million. Tack on the luxury tax payment, and the total outlay reaches around $373 million. For 2025, Cot’s has the Yankees sitting at $283 million in payroll and $43 million in tax, totaling $326 million. However, that figure doesn’t include Max Fried’s signing bonus payment of $20 million due this month, so let’s bring the grand total for 2025 to $346M.
In no world do I expect any team, let alone the Yankees, to slash its expenditures after a deep postseason run. Sure, Soto’s departure changed this winter’s approach. But to cut expenses by this much while looking for more savings? Ick.
Maybe you want to give the Yankees some benefit of the doubt, given that the tax payments do nothing to actually improve the team. I can appreciate that, to a degree. Ignoring the tax, we’re looking at a $310 million to $303 million swing. It’s still a payroll cut after winning a pennant, with up to $18.5 million more in savings coming (though likely not that whole amount, or perhaps particularly close). Any way you slice it, the Yankees are shaving costs after a season that almost certainly had better financial results than any year in recent memory.
For reference, The Dodgers have gone from an estimated $326 million in 2024 to a projected $367 million payroll this year. Yes, they won it all. Yes, LA’s ownership group is significantly wealthier than Hal Steinbrenner and his partners. But this is what we should want out of any ownership group after a pennant or championship win.
Curtailing payroll is nothing new for the Yankees. You likely recall Plan 189, or how the Yankees trimmed payroll by about $30 million after 2017, or how no team should need a $200 million payroll to win a World Series (now $300 million, as Hal has so kindly adjusted). To be clear, it’s true that a team doesn’t need to spend $300 million to win it all. It’s rich when it comes from the owner of the Yankees, though.
And look, I get that the league’s financial environment has changed. Hal’s wealthy because of the Yankees, not because of something else in his life. He’s the managing partner of the team, not outright owner, meaning he doesn’t have the same stake as, say, Steve Cohen. Steinbrenner likely can’t spend as freely as other clubs, and certainly isn’t in the same stratosphere in terms of personal wealth as others.
Still, Hal has shown that he can compete with the Dodgers and Mets with payrolls in the $300 million range. With that being the case, why cut payroll at this juncture? Just because of the luxury tax? I get that the tax seems unfair when other owners’ investments into their clubs are laughable, but damn. It’s too late to change things now, unless the Yankees surprisingly pivot to Alex Bregman. There are no other free agents that fit the roster who are going to get a big payday.
I’m sure I’m coming off as a spoiled or entitled Yankees fan. I know a lot of other fanbases have it worse. Still, it feels like fair game to complain about trimming payroll following a World Series appearance.