ORLANDO — As he arrived at the Winter Meetings on Sunday night, Brian Cashman insisted he did so without any hard limits from Hal Steinbrenner on his spending this offseason.
The Yankees GM, who is pursuing a reunion with Cody Bellinger and hoping to beef up his bullpen, spoke about how he would love to add a starter and also find better lineup balance than it currently has.
Accomplishing all, or even some, of that would be difficult if the Yankees were actually going to stay under a $300 million payroll — which Steinbrenner recently said would be “ideal” — given that they are already projected to be around $283 million.
“The last time I spoke with you guys, I told you that Hal hadn’t given me a drop-dead number and that’s still the case,” Cashman said in a hotel room at the Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek. “Hal’s exact words to me continue to be, ‘Take everything that’s out there to me,’ which I will continue to do.”
Cashman claimed Steinbrenner has not instructed him to drop the payroll from the $319 million the Yankees finished at last season, which ended in the ALDS against the Blue Jays.
Asked if the Yankees realistically have to spend more in order to improve their roster from last year, Cashman replied, “There’s a lot of different ways to skin a cat.”
“I think that’s every owner’s [ideal] — you’d love to win the whole thing at less of a cost if you possibly can,” Cashman said.
Still, Cashman indicated that the tenor of his conversations with Steinbrenner have not changed this offseason and noted that the Yankees increased their payroll at the trade deadline last season despited exceeding the highest luxury tax threshold.
Next season’s top tax threshold is $304 million, a figure the Yankees would almost certainly fly past if they are able to land Bellinger.
Cashman reiterated on Sunday that they would “love to have him back if it could fit for us,” noting that he spoke with Bellinger’s agent, Scott Boras, on Saturday.
If the Yankees miss out on Bellinger, they could fill the hole in left field internally, with Jasson Domínguez and/or Spencer Jones, though that would be another position filled by a left-handed bat (Bellinger also hits left-handed, but he mashed lefty pitching in 2025).
Perhaps that would free up money for the rotation (which is expected to get Carlos Rodón back from the injured list in April or May, and Gerrit Cole in May or June) or the bullpen, which has already lost Devin Williams to the Mets.
Whether or not any of those holes gets filled by the time Cashman leaves the Winter Meetings remains to be seen.
“Last year, we were able to get a lot of things done from the Winter Meetings and beyond,” he said. “So I don’t think there’s as much — as deep a need of a lot of things as there was last year. But there’s things I’m obviously trying to do.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
