The New York Yankees currently have an estimated $271M payroll, an increase of $22M from last season.
Fangraphs.com lists the Yankees payroll well above the second threshold of the MLB Luxury Tax levels.
The MLB Basic Agreement includes four thresholds of MLB Luxury Tax penalties.
Many in MLB have labeled the Luxury Tax “The Cohen Tax.” That nickname references New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, who has not been shy about adding substantially to the Mets payroll since he assumed ownership of the Mets.
While the Yankees are poised to crawl deeply into the 2023 MLB Luxury Tax penalty box, the Mets have, indeed, taken a very deep dive into the penalty pool.
The Mets and Mr. Cohen are reported by fangraphs.com to have an estimated $376M payroll for next season-a whopping $83M over the highest threshold of the Luxury Tax system
The Yankees finished last season with a record of 99-63, 7 games better than the second place Toronto Blue Jays.
The Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians, 3-2 in the postseason American League Division Series. However, they couldn’t get past the eventual World Champion Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series, losing 4-0 to the Astros.
Since the end of the season, the Astros have replaced first baseman Yuli Gurriel Jr. with free agent All Star first baseman Jose Abreu.
Abreu, 35, provides the Astros with an additional RBI threat in the middle of their batting order.
Abreu, along with hitters like Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker provide the World Champion Astros with a lethal lineup of consequential hitters.
The Astros also signed outfielder Michael Brantley, a very solid line drive hitter, to a new contract. Battling injuries, Brantley missed time last season with the Astros.
Can the Yankees catch the Astros? Does the Yankees spending close the gap between themselves and Houston?
To this scout, they have not improved their offense enough to beat the Astros.
The Yankees signed Aaron Judge to a 9-year, $360M contract. Judge became a free agent after this past season. He entertained offers from other clubs, and some analysts felt the San Francisco Giants could sign Judge away from the Yankees. It was not to be.
With the Judge signing leading their off season, the Yankees continued to spend. Their biggest additional move was signing left-handed free agent starter Carlos Rodon to a 6-year, $162M contract.
