Yankees Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner yesterday said the club is not fiscally constrained, despite already having more than $197M committed in ’15 payroll to just 15 players. “We’re still the New York Yankees, all you guys know that,” Steinbrenner said. “We know what the fans expect. We know what the town expects. We’re not going to be afraid to spend money.” The Yankees last year had the second-highest payroll in baseball at $197.2M, trailing just the Dodgers and going way past league luxury tax thresholds. But the club missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season. While Steinbrenner did not commit to making another significant roster move prior to the start of the season, he said the club is keeping its financial options open. “Look, it’s not over until it’s over,” he 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” (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).
NOT SO SCHER: On Long Island, David Lennon notes Steinbrenner "is the latest -- not to mention the highest ranking -- member of the front office to express reluctance for adding another mega-contract." Even without "signing a costly, ace-type starter" like free agent P Max Scherzer, Steinbrenner "sounds pleased with the Yankees' direction this winter." He added, "We started out with a payroll that was already high before we did anything, so we knew we had a certain amount of dollars to work with. And I think (GM Brian Cashman) did a great job" (NEWSDAY, 1/15). In N.Y., McCarron & Madden note Yankees President Randy Levine and Cashman "have both all but dismissed the likelihood of signing a pitcher such as Scherzer." Sources said that the payroll, which they project at $206M, "is not going to be increased by much" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/15).
