With Major League Baseball’s new five-year collective-bargaining agreement in place, the Yankees can officially begin their offseason business.
According to a report by the New York Daily News, the Yankees had been “staying put” until a new collective-bargaining agreement was settled, waiting to see how it would impact the franchise’s financial position.
With the luxury tax threshold rising from $189 million to $195 million in 2017, and to $197 million in 2018, New York has a fair chance to trim its payroll beneath that mark within the next two seasons.
But there is no guarantee heavy spending will come this winter, according to Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, who spoke with YES Network’s Meredith Marakovits in the second part of a two-part interview which aired Thursday night on the “Yankees Hot Stove” program.