MLB insider Jeff Passan UNLOADS on NY Yankees, criticizes team’s owner Hal Steinbrenner for not spending due to luxury tax

MLB insider Jeff Passan questioned why Hal Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees, was afraid to spend more in the offseason.

MLB insider Jeff Passan UNLOADS on NY Yankees, criticizes team’s owner Hal Steinbrenner for not spending due to luxury tax

Hal Steinbrenner and Jeff Passan (Image via X)

After making some big moves following the loss of Juan Soto to the New York Mets, the New York Yankees have gone quiet in the offseason. Team owner Hal Steinbrenner recently made it clear that he does not want to cross the luxury tax threshold. MLB Insider Jeff Passan on Tuesday unloaded on him and the team.

To fill the void left by Soto, the Yankees roped in Cody Bellinger through a trade from the Chicago Cubs and landed Paul Goldschmidt on a one-year $12 million deal. Apart from that, they have also acquired the services of closer Devin Williams and starting pitcher Max Fried.

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Since this move, the Bronx Bombers have gone quiet. They are now trying to offload pitcher Marcus Stroman and save around $17 million from his salary. As per New York Post’s Joel Sharman, the team is unwilling to make another move in the offseason unless they manage to get rid of Stroman.

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Speaking regarding this on The Michael Kay Show, ESPN insider Jeff Passan criticized the Yankees and team owner Hal Steinbrenner. He pointed out how the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets are unafraid of spending and crossing the luxury tax threshold.

If the penalties are so tough, then why are the Dodgers and Mets doing it? At the end of the day, these are the New York freaking Yankees. If a luxury tax threshold is holding them back, it says more about where they are as a franchise than it does about the luxury tax itself. When have the Yankees ever played third fiddle in baseball? That’s exactly where they are right now when it comes to spending.

Jeff Passan said

As per reports from FanGraphs, the Yankees are currently fourth in the rankings for the luxury tax. The American League East side is projected to have around $303 million in luxury tax. Only the Dodgers, Mets, and the Philadelphia Phillies have more than them.

In 2024, a record of nine MLB teams were beyond the $237 million threshold. The Yankees were among one of them. They were taxed 50 percent along with the Mets, Phillies, and the Dodgers as they had been above this limit in each of the last three seasons.

Hal Steinbrenner claims it’s “difficult” for teams to compete against LA Dodgers’ spending

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been the talk of the town in the offseason. After winning the World Series against the New York Yankees, they added more firepower to their roster, which has led to severe backlash from fans. Hal Steinbrenner has now claimed that it is “difficult” for teams to compete against their spending.

Hal Steinbrenner
Hal Steinbrenner (Image via X)

In an interview with YES Network’s Meredith Marakovits, the Yankees owner admitted that baseball owners find it hard to keep up with the spending of the Dodgers.

It’s difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that they’re doing. Now, we’ll see if it pays off.

Hal Steinbrenner said

The Dodgers brought in Blake Snell on a 5-year $182 million deal and splashed around $72 million to rope in Tanner Scott. Apart from that, they landed top Japanese star Roki Sasaki in a bargain deal.

The 2024 World Series champion has got Michael Conforto and Hyeseong Kim from free agency as well. Apart from them, they re-signed Teoscar Hernandez and Blake Trenien. All of these moves came after they extended the contract of Tommy Edman, signaling their intentions for another strong push in the 2025 campaign.