The New York Yankees can shed more than $10 million through the offloading process in order to increase purse value.
New York Yankees, the second largest sports franchise in the world, ran out of money as the luxury tax rule came out in play. Interestingly, the Yanks exhausted over $500 million on just four players. Hence, post-Andrew Benintendi’s departure, when the club entered free agency to acquire an outfielder for the left-field job, they hit a roadblock due to a cash crunch.
Apparently, the Yankees have reached their luxury tax threshold. On top of that, surpassing the threshold would lead to a 90% tax penalty on every dollar spent, as the Yanks are second-time offenders. Hence, the club needs to do some shedding internally to raise some money for the outfielder acquisition. Here are the two ways the Yankees can raise cash by offloading contracts.
Yankees Could Off Load Aaron Hicks, Josh Donaldson’s Contract To Shed Money
The New York Yankees are in desperate need of cash. Since the club is adamant about adhering to the luxury tax rule, the only option is to shed money internally by offloading unwanted contracts. For starters, Aaron Hicks, one of the worst performers of the 2022 season, is set to earn more than $10 million in 2023. Moreover, the outfielder is 33 years old. Hence, retaining Aaron Hicks for the entire three years makes less sense. Yankees bossman Brian Cashman, who showed a lot of faith in Hicks, should consider giving him up for a trade straight away.
Another one on the trade radar is Josh Donaldson. Josh arrived last season in a trade package with Isiah Kiner Falefa. However, his journey donning the pinstripe has been a rollercoaster ride. The baseman registered his all-time career low performance. As a result, the fans demanded his ouster. However, the front office continues to back the veteran. Josh, too enjoys a handsome paycheck and, most importantly, is 37 years old. Offloading Josh’s contract would make more sense for the Yankees as the shredded money could be used to acquire the much-needed outfielder.
Aaron Hicks Fully Recovered, To Start In Left Field
Aaron Hicks suffered a knee injury post-collision with Oswald Cabrera last season in ALDS. Consecutively, the outfielder was ruled out of the ALCS against the Houston Astros. However, the Yankees did not miss Hicks’ services extensively as the outfielder encountered poor form. Meanwhile, according to the latest reports, Hicks appears to have fully healed and will likely start for the Yankees on the opening day.
Furthermore, as the New York Yankees are missing an outfielder for the left-field job, Aaron Hicks will handle that position for the time being until the front office finds a designated player for the job role. The 2023 MLB season will commence next month. Moreover, a mandatory spring training session will take place in two weeks to put the rosters to the test.