How Much Cap Space Do the Yankees Have?

The Yankees have been big spenders in recent years, but how much money do they have to spend this offseason?

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Introduction

Baseball teams are given a “payroll budget” each season by Major League Baseball. This budget, also called the “competitive balance tax”, is used to determine how much each team is allowed to spend on their players’ salaries. The Yankees’ budget for the 2019 season is $210 million. The luxury tax is an additional tax that teams must pay if their payroll exceeds a certain threshold. For the 2019 season, the luxury tax threshold is $246 million. If a team’s payroll exceeds this threshold, they must pay a 20% tax on the overage. In addition, teams that exceed the luxury tax threshold for three consecutive seasons must pay a 50% tax on the overage.

The Yankees’ Current Roster

The New York Yankees have a lot of cap space for the 2019 season. They currently have about $40 million in cap space, which is the fourth most in baseball. The Yankees have a lot of young talent on their roster and they should be able to compete for a playoff spot in 2019.

The Yankees’ Current Salary Situation

As of right now, the Yankees have about $153 million in committed salaries for 2019, which includes $22 million for Aroldis Chapman, $16 million for Dellin Betances, $11 million for CC Sabathia, and $10 million for Brett Gardner. They also have a few arbitration-eligible players who will likely make around $10-$12 million combined.

So based on those numbers, the Yankees probably have somewhere in the range of $180-$190 million to work with this offseason. Obviously, that number could change if they make any trades or signings between now and then. But as it stands right now, they should have plenty of room to make a big splash or two this winter.

How Much Cap Space the Yankees Have

The Yankees have been one of the most successful teams in baseball over the last two decades, making the playoffs an incredible 18 times and winning the World Series six times.

But as any true Yankees fan knows, success comes at a price. The team has had one of the highest payrolls in baseball for most of that time, regularly shelling out north of $200 million a year in salary.

This season is no different, with the Yankees currently sitting at $230 million in payroll. But what many fans may not realize is that this number is actually quite a bit lower than it has been in recent years. In fact, it’s the lowest it has been since 2007.

So how much cap space do the Yankees have? While the team is currently over the $197 million luxury tax threshold, they are only about $33 million over. That means they have roughly $164 million to spend on players next season.

While that may seem like a lot, keep in mind that the Yankees have several big contracts coming off the books after this season, including those of CC Sabathia, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Brett Gardner. That will free up quite a bit of money to spend on new players or to keep current stars like Aaron Judge and Luis Severino happy with long-term extensions.

So while the Yankees may not be as cash-strapped as some other teams, they will still need to be smart with their money if they want to maintain their place among baseball’s elite clubs.

Conclusion

After looking at the Yankees’ current and future commitments, it seems clear that they will have plenty of space to sign multiple top free agents this offseason. However, they will need to be mindful of the luxury tax threshold, as they are currently projected to be just over the $206 million mark. If they want to avoid paying the luxury tax, they will need to stay under that number.