MLB Insider and Beat Writer for the New York Post, Jon Heyman, contrary to rumors and speculation over the last several days, stated on the Bleacher Report Livestream App about the New York Yankees that, “They’re not going to stay under a 300 million dollar payroll.” Heyman added that the Yankees “make money like crazy” and that “they are probably close to it already” (referring to the $ 300 million threshold), and that the Yankees are one of several teams linked to Japanese starting pitcher Tatsuya Imai.
This came after Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay stated on his radio show via WFAN the other day, Thursday, December 4th, “that there’s a good chance that the Yankees’ intent at this point on December 4th is to in fact be under the 300 million dollar threshold.”
Yankees Owner Addressed Payroll Questions For 2026
Yankees Owner Hal Steinbrenner stated on Monday, November 24th, in a Zoom call with reporters regarding the team’s payroll moving into 2026, “Would it be ideal if it went down? Of course. But does that mean that’s going to happen? Of course not.”
Steinbrenner then added; “We want to field a team we know can win a championship, or we believe could win a championship.” Steinbrenner noted that the Yankees payroll in 2025 was at $315 million, which was 74 million over the league’s 241 million threshold for 2025. It’s well known the Yankees previous efforts of trying to get under the 300 million payroll mark because the lower the difference between the luxury tax threshold and the team’s payroll, the less the team is charged in luxury tax penalties.
The Yankees’ current 2026 payroll per Spotrac, after accounting for arbitration-eligible players and Trent Grisham’s acceptance of the $22.025 million qualifying offer, is $280.77 million as of Friday, December 5th, 2025. With just under 20 million dollars of wiggle room for free agent/and or trade acquisitions, if the Yankees do plan on staying under the 300 million dollar threshold, it won’t make it an easy task to improve upon the 2025 team in a growingly more competitive AL East.
Improving A Roster With Financial Implications
With Steinbrenner emphasizing both his commitment to building a winner and his willingness not to rule out getting the payroll under $300 million, it will be interesting to see what the Yankees owner ultimately decides and what the final payroll number will be. With an increasingly competitive AL East, the defending AL champs, the Toronto Blue Jays, signed Dylan Cease to a 7-year, $ 210 million deal earlier this week. The Baltimore Orioles improved with the signing of relief pitcher Ryan Helsley, and the Boston Red Sox added to their starting pitching depth by trading for Sonny Gray from the St Louis Cardinals.
The Yankees will have important decisions to make not only about their payroll but also about their AL East rivals. The reality is that the AL East is showing no signs of slowing down in 2026, and if the Yankees want to get back to the World Series and even have a chance to win a championship, they’ll have to find a way to get past their counterpart, the Toronto Blue Jays, who have so far been aggressive this offseason in adding Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, and still heavily involved in the Kyle Tucker sweepstakes, in which Tucker reportedly has already visited the Blue Jays spring training complex in Dunedin, Florida.
The only question remaining is, how much is Hal Steinbrenner willing to let payroll get in the way of building a better Yankees team for 2026?
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