Call to the pen
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New York Yankees could look to cut payroll for 2021

By David Hill

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 12: New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman talks on the phone prior to a Grapefruit League spring training game between the Washington Nationals and the New York Yankees at FITTEAM Ballpark of The Palm Beaches on March 12, 2020 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Many professional and college sports are canceling or postponing their games due to the ongoing threat of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 12: New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman talks on the phone prior to a Grapefruit League spring training game between the Washington Nationals and the New York Yankees at FITTEAM Ballpark of The Palm Beaches on March 12, 2020 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Many professional and college sports are canceling or postponing their games due to the ongoing threat of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Every team is navigating a unique financial landscape in the wake of the pandemic. The New York Yankees are no different.

For years, the New York Yankees seemingly had their own printing press in Yankee Stadium. Their payroll budget seemed limitless, the contract demands of any free agent were never too high. If there was a player that the Yankees needed to contend, they typically got their man, increasing that offer until their target could not walk away.

But that was then. With the ongoing pandemic, and a season without fans in the stands, virtually every team is looking to cut payroll. There have been layoffs, with long time members of the organizations being let go. Free agency could drag on as teams simply do not have the finances they had been banking on.

That goes for the Yankees as well. According to reports, the Yankees are looking to decrease payroll, with Joel Sherman suggesting that they could try to get down to the $200 to $210 million range.

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A portion of that decrease will happen organically. The Yankees have six free agents – D.J. LeMahieu, Jacoby Ellsbury, Masahiro Tanaka, Brett Gardner, James Paxton, and J.A. Happ – that will account for nearly $100 million. Of those players, LeMahieu and Tanaka may be the only ones that the franchise actively looks to retain, unless Gardner is willing to take a pay cut to return to the only team he has ever played for.

However, a portion of that will be taken up by raises in arbitration. Aaron Judge and Gio Urshela are due to see their salaries increase, and with nearly half their roster eligible for arbitration, a significant chunk of that savings could be reallocated to players already on the roster.

It is somewhat ridiculous for austerity to involve a payroll of over $200 million. And it is strange to think of the Yankees needing to rein in their spending, even if it is for just one year. But this is an offseason unlike any other, where there is no guarantee that fans will even be allowed back for the 2021 season. Teams have to prepare for the worst case scenario, and that includes the Yankees.

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The New York Yankees may do something no one would have ever expected – cut payroll because their money making machine has run empty.

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