For the back in my day crowd, there’s no doubt the Yankees would have offered Didi Gregorius a $17.8 million qualifying offer, extended Aroldis Chapman another four years, re-signed both Brett Gardner and Dellin Betances for at least what they took home in 2019 ($7.5M and $7.25M, respectively), and definitely thrown $200M-plus at a free agent pitcher such as Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg.
But that world where the luxury tax didn’t come into play for George M. Steinbrenner no longer exists. So I chuckle when people tell me that the Yanks are the wealthiest team in the sport — and that’s why they can sign whomever they want.