Here is what a big-market team that truly believes it is a contender does if Plan A does not work: It moves to Plan B, even if the secondary scenario forces it to spend more than they wanted.
Only one New York team has behaved that way late this offseason. That it is the Mets symbolizes the identity flip-flop – at least in the present – of the two clubs.
Both had been determined to only address bullpen needs if they offloaded salary already on the books. The Yankees have stuck to that policy. The Mets audibled.
Unable to deal Jay Bruce’s $13 million, the Mets capitalized on falling prices in the relief market to get Jerry Blevins ($6.5 million) and Fernando Salas ($3 million) on favorable terms, particularly because the guarantees are for no more than one year.
Meanwhile, the Yankees have been unable to deal Brett Gardner, Chase Headley or Starlin Castro, who they let some clubs know was available. To date, that has kept them from pushing for a pricey reliever.
The Yankees, for example, were in on Sergio Romo, who is in agreement on a one-year, $3 million deal with the Dodgers. They still could ultimately end up with a Joe Blanton or Travis Wood. But the fact they never even made a firm offer on Romo and that Brian Cashman said the group of relievers recently signed at lower-than-expected rates, but still in the $6 million-ish range (think also Neftali Feliz, Boone Logan and Blevins) is “still a little higher than an area we could go,” shows Hal Steinbrenner has set a tight payroll lid.
When I asked if he did not have the financial authority to sign these kind of deals because of budget restrictions, Cashman said, “Correct.” Then added because of “the salary and luxury-tax combination.”
Keep in mind that even with inking Yoenis Cespedes to the largest free-agent contract doled out this offseason and giving the qualifying offer to Neil Walker and retaining Bruce and adding the two relievers, the Mets still will have a payroll about $50 million less than the Yankees’ and will be well under the luxury tax.
The Yankees will be above the $195 million threshold. That means they will pay a 50 percent tax on any dollar spent above that amount and an additional 12 percent (as part of the new CBA) for anything in the $215 million-$235 million range, which is where they are likely to end up. So, for example, a $6.5 million contract for Blevins would have cost the Yankees at least $9 million with the tax.
However, all these recent relief deals have been for one year or one with an option. Thus, it would not harm the Yankees’ hopes of going under the threshold in 2018, which is their internal goal. If they were as gung-ho to win in 2017 as they say publicly – or as the Mets are — they would spend the marginal dollars as they have in the past when they believe they have a chance to win. Instead after adding Aroldis Chapman (five years, $86 million) and Matt Holliday (one year, $13 million), the Yanks have been in mostly a holding pattern, with perhaps no more than $3 million to invest in a reliever.
“For the most part, the money allocation on Holliday and Chapman brought us close to our limits,” Cashman said.
The Yankees’ pen should be strong with a final three of Tyler Clippard, Dellin Betances and Chapman. But in the past two years, in particular, the Yankees have struggled beyond their main relievers and in innings 5-7, and with a rotation featuring physical red flags (Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia, Masahiro Tanaka) and youth (Luis Cessa, Chad Green, Bryan Mitchell, Luis Severino), the Yankees want a deep pen. They like the left-on-left skills of Tommy Layne, and Adam Warren is likely to end up back in the pen after trying for the rotation in spring. They have big arms as possible options, including that of Severino, who excelled in the pen last year.
Still, they want one more established pen piece to provide depth and let the young starters who do not win a rotation job stay stretched out as starters at Triple-A. But unlike the window-to-win-is-now Mets, the Yankees are less motivated to spend as a solution, demonstrating they are valuing the big picture over the small picture.
“This is the current reality we live in,” Cashman said. “I stayed in touch with all those guys [who signed]. If they fall in a certain number [the Yankees are in play]. … The numbers that came in were above that.”