Steve Phillips, former MLB GM, went on his MLB Radio show to discuss the Yankees‘ potential offseason plans, and among things mentioned was their budget for adding a starter.
While there’s skepticism about the team’s willingness to spend on both starting pitching and an outfield addition such as Cody Bellinger, Phillips suggested that they might be gearing up to go big with their payroll.
“It does sound like they may be blowing up the budget a little bit to land more starting pitcher in addition to needing to get Bellinger”
The Yankees would have to commit nearly $50 million in additional payroll to accomplish such a task, which would push their payroll into territories its never ventured into before.
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The Yankees have ran high payrolls under majority owner Hal Steinbrenner, as the team has maintained a payroll above $300 million in each of the last two seasons.
With that said, the team has not reached the heights that teams such as the Dodgers and Mets have reached in their payrolls as their mega owners have bankrolled some incredibly expensive operations.
If the Yankees were to add Cody Bellinger and Tatsuya Imai for example, the Yankees would be pushing their payroll past the $330 million mark while having needs to fill in their bullpen.
Reports have suggested that they won’t be going big-fish hunting for relievers, but is that a cost-cutting measure or a way to open the door for a double-dip in the free agent market?
Cody Bellinger’s market has remained a relative mystery, as the Yankees are in but teams such as the Mets, Dodgers, and Blue Jays seem to be in on the condition that his demands drop or their other targets sign elsewhere.
Furthermore, teams are aware of how much Yankee Stadium benefitted his profile, curious as to whether that bat will translate to their ballpark the same.
That said he’s an elite-level defender in the corner outfield who can play first base and centerfield if needed, which is why he will command and almost certainly land a contract north of $100 million.
As for Tatsuya Imai and Michael King, these two pitchers would come with price tags north of $20 million in AAV, but with Imai specifically, he comes with the additional revenue streams of being a Japanese star of serious note.
The Yankees need more pitching and hitting, but time will tell if the team is serious about making the additions needed to make both signifcantly better through free agency or the trade market.