While the Yankees’ priorities include developing homegrown talent while also winning ballgames, the front office also has its eyes set on one magic number: $197 million.
That figure happens to be MLB’s luxury tax threshold for the 2018 season, which was agreed upon in last December’s new collective bargaining agreement between the league and MLBPA. By November of next year, baseball will likely welcome a historic free-agent class, with superstars Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and Matt Harvey on the market.
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner has expressed the team’s desire to pursue big-ticket items in the near future, but in order to be big spenders, it’ll require New York to hold onto money in the meantime.