The Yankees still are the Yankees.
While this offseason has been relatively quiet for New York, the Bronx Bombers still could make a splash before Opening Day. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner maintained Wednesday that the team has spending limits, but he also didn’t close the door on dishing out cash to improve the club.
“We’re still the New York Yankees, all you guys know that,” Steinbrenner told reporters at the Major League Baseball owners meetings in Arizona. “We know what the fans expect. We know what the town expects. We’re not going to be afraid to spend money.”
This shouldn’t come as a shock to any baseball fan, as the Yankees’ payroll consistently is among the highest — if not the highest — in the league. Still, it sounds like New York might refrain from adding a high-priced acquisition this offseason. The Yankees’ payroll already is expected to be in excess of $200 million, and general manager Brian Cashman last month downplayed the possibility of adding someone like free-agent pitcher Max Scherzer.
“There’s just a certain amount I’m going to go,” Steinbrenner said Wednesday. “You all know my opinions about payroll, where you should be and where you really don’t need to be to win championships.”
“You don’t have to have a $200 million payroll to win,” he added.
Club sources told the New York Daily News that the Yankees’ payroll — projected at $206 million — won’t increase by much over the next couple of months. New York has questions in its rotation, though, so perhaps things will change and the Yankees will decide to go all-in for 2015.
“Look, it’s not over till it’s over,” Steinbrenner said. “We still have a full month before spring training. We’re always going to continue to improve. I’m not putting a cap on it. We’ve certainly filled some holes that we had. We’ll keep going for the next few weeks.”
The Yankees’ philosophy seems a bit peculiar given the franchise’s track record. But let’s not rule anything out.
After all, it’s still the Yankees.
Thumbnail photo via Debby Wong/USA TODAY Sports Images
