The Yankees have already surpassed the first two luxury thresholds of $206M and $226MGETTY IMAGES
Yankees Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner said that he would be "willing to surpass the highest luxury tax threshold" ($246M) if it "meant making a move that would put the Yankees 'over the top' in pursuit of a championship," according to Greg Joyce of the N.Y. POST. The Yankees have "already surpassed the first two thresholds" of $206M and $226M, including the recent acquisition of DH Edwin Encarnacion for P Juan Then and cash. Steinbrenner yesterday said, "If I really felt we needed that deal that takes us over the top, then yes, I would." He added, "But we still have a decent amount of cushion. I’m not concerned about that. It’s a decent cushion." Joyce notes the Yankees "focused on staying under" the $197M luxury-tax threshold last year to "avoid penalties, after having paid them for 15 straight years, and reset their base tax rates." When they recently got "beat out" by the Braves on signing P Dallas Keuchel, Yankees Senior VP & GM Brian Cashman "cited the additional tax penalties the Yankees would have incurred had they raised the offer" (N.Y. POST, 6/20). On Long Island, David Lennon notes the "cushion" which Steinbrenner refers to "looks to be roughly" $15M, enough to "trade for front-line rotation help and keep Steinbrenner out of the top bracket" (NEWSDAY, 6/20).
