Yankees Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner said the club remains fervent in its desire to get below the sport’s newly recalibrated luxury tax threshold by next year. The club’s ’17 payroll is projected to be below last year’s mark of about $226M. A heightening emphasis on younger players and expiring contracts for retired 3B Alex Rodriguez, P CC Sabathia and LF Matt Holliday have $59M coming off the club’s books this fall, further contributing to the Yankees’ projected cost-cutting. “We’re going to put a lot of that back into the club like we always do,” Steinbrenner said. “But it’s going to allow me to get down to where I think any team should not have to be (higher) than to win a championship, which is right around the (luxury tax) threshold. But these young players are going to have to pan out. That’s going to be part of the equation.” The luxury tax threshold for the ’17 season is $195M, while $197M is the mark for '18. Steinbrenner for years sought to get the Yankees below the luxury tax threshold in the prior labor agreement term, but was not able to do so, and the club has paid luxury tax for 14 straight years. Meanwhile, Steinbrenner once again shot down rumors of any move toward a sale of the club, and grew visibly agitated the subject continued to be a source of industry gossip. “We’re not selling. Look, this is a family business. A family business is not always the easiest thing in the world. It has its blessings, it has its difficulties. But we all work together, and it isn’t going anywhere,” he said. “We all feel that my Dad did so much, he would want this. And we love doing it.”
