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E.J. Fagan

How Much Money Does Cashman Have to Spend?

by EJ Fagan

November 2024

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NOTE: The following comes from EJ Fagan's substack page and is shared with permission. This was published a few days ago so the stats don't include the last few games.


Please check out EJ's substack page for more great articles.

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The Yankees spent $309 million on player salaries in 2024. Hal Steinbrenner indicates that the budget won’t increase. This may be controversial among Yankee fans, but I think $309 is more than enough. The Steinbrenners had a stingy phase awhile back, but they are back to spending right up there with the top teams in the league. A good GM should be able to succeed with that budget.


When arbitration raises are accounted for, Fangraphs estimates that the Yankees currently under team control would cost about $243.5 million. However, that isn’t the whole story. The following players are near-locks to be non-tendered or traded:


  • Tim Mayza, $4.0 million

  • Trent Grisham, $5.7 million

  • JT Brubaker, $2.3 million


I also think there is a pretty good chance that the Yankees trade Nestor Cortes ($7 million) or Jon Berti ($3.8 million). They might resign Mayza or Brubaker as depth pieces but at a lower salary. That could bring payroll down to as far as about $230-$240 million, or $60-70 million to spend on free agents.


The only real salary dump candidate on the roster is Marcus Stroman, but I’m skeptical that anyone would take his $18 million until he shows some more velocity.


That’s not bad! But it gets eaten up very quickly by a huge Juan Soto deal.


Let’s say that Juan Soto’s AAV comes in around $45 million (something like $600 million over 13 years). The Yankees would have something like $15-25 million to spend. If they add a first baseman for around $18 million, they are down to just a few lower priced relief pitchers or bench players.


Honestly, I thought they had more to spend in my head. Soto really does eat up a ton of the budget. I still think it is a good idea to bring Soto back, but I think he basically locks in Dominguez as a starter and a cheap platoon in the infield and rules them out of any real pitching addition. There isn’t really a world where the Yankees sign Soto and someone like Blake Snell, but Christian Walker is still in reach.



23 comments

23 Comments


Paul Semendinger
Paul Semendinger
Nov 19

The Yankees have the money to get Soto. That's not even in question. They just earned tens of millions in the post season. They're renting Steinbrenner Field to the Rays for $25 million. The patch on the sleeve is $25 million.


If the Yankees don't get Soto, the blame falls not on Soto for accepting a better offer, but on the Yankees for not making the best offer.


Everyone last year wanted to say that Yamamoto was only going to sign with the Dodgers. That might be true, but we'll never know because the Yankees came in $25 million below the Dodgers. Some want to say, "Well, the Mets offered a lot," but the easy response is the Yankees a…

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fuster
Nov 19
Replying to

if the Yankees don't retain Soto, perhaps no blame should be attached to anyone.

the Yankees are certainly able to afford to pay Soto some $600M for his services

some other team might decide that they would derive value in unlimited measure from signing Soto.

the Dodgers placed an extraordinary value on obtaining Ohtani's services, believing that Ohtani would bring in enormous advertising revenue to their business

and that Ohtani's value as a sensational player would be augmented by his value as a symbol of national and regional pride to nations outside oof the US.


some team's owner might decide that there is great value in outbidding the new York Yankees for Soto's services

and that Soto's value as a…


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etbkarate
Nov 18

Whether we like it or not, a Soto contract has the very realistic potential to put the brakes on many future deals (free agent signings & trades for established stars under current large contracts) for the foreseeable future. Which is why we have this this huge dilemma. We all know he can hit. Never a question. The question I have; are his hitting abilities, (.288, 41, 109) so great, and so beyond what anyone else can come close to doing in MLB, worth the opportunity cost his contract can result in as we move forward?


It's a shame that it has to be viewed this way, but that is a very distinct possibility when you consider all the factors; Hal's…


Edited
Like
yankeesblog
Nov 18
Replying to

Good point about Stroman, Stanton and Rodon. Those are the contracts that are handcuffing the Yankees not what they will have to pay to retain Soto. A 7-8 WAR guy is nothing to sneeze at especially when you will be getting him for his age 26 year through the end of his career (or whenever he opts out). That's a rare opportunity.

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cpogo0502
Nov 18

This may sound nuts but at this point, and given the Yankees' many holes to fill, I hope they do not resign Soto and use the money to fill in with several very good players. To me it seems a much better way to build an all-around balanced ball club that can endure rather than putting handcuffs on by using all their resources on one player. We'll see, There are rumors that the Mets offered $660 million as a starting point, Will the Yankees match that? Sometimes the best moves you make are the ones you don't.

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fuster
Nov 19
Replying to

If he is offered more by another team, than the Yankees' offer wasn't generous enough.


love your sense of humor


fathers that wear rags

do make their children blind

but fathers that bear bags

shall find their children kind.


that some other fool throws an even bigger bag at someone's feet

makes not a generous offer a mean one.


Edited
Like

yankeesblog
Nov 18

$309 million is more than enough if you're starting from scratch. The Yankees aren't. They have $135.8 million committed to just four players: Judge, Cole, Stanton and Rodon. If they retain Soto for $45 million that's more than half the budget committed to just 4 players. The Yankees have too many holes to close and not enough quality internal options to fill them to be a slave to last year's total salaries. Wells and Volpe will fill two roster spots at minimal cost and Dominguez is most likely going to fill a third for a similar low price. But the Yankees are still short at least one SP, an entire right side of the infield and some bullpen spots. I'm…

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etbkarate
Nov 18
Replying to

An inconvenient truth!

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Alan B.
Alan B.
Nov 18

The days of checkbook roster building is over. But you also have to be smart on who you spend money on. I was not in favor of signing Rodon. I never believed in even thinking about extending Torres unless he moved to 3B. Personally I went back n forth on DJ, but like Severino, health got him and the Yankees medical staff have had no answers. Why aren't more fans angry that the Mets were able to keep Sevy healthy?


I think the Yankees will spend on a corner infielder, even if Soto re-signs. The other open infield spot will goto a kid. The current leaders in the clubhouse are Durbin for 2B and Rice for 1B.


I do not…

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Alan B.
Alan B.
Nov 19
Replying to

The Yankees couldn't keep this guy healthy for 5 years, the Mets kept him healthy. I've made a big stink at times about the NYY medical staff. Now, once again there is proof right in our own backyard that someone else could keep their former injured players healthy. DJ has had foot problems for 3 seasons now and my take is that it's so bad here it's ending his career. If Sevy was healthy here, do we sign either Rodon or Stroman? I doubt either of them are ever signed here. As Buck said tonight on MLBN, the salaries already on your club can dictate what you do later or down the road.

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