Hal Steinbrenner, New York Yankees managing partner and majority owner, has grabbed headlines for all the wrong reasons this season. While the team is set on a ballistic run, Steinbrenner’s comments on Juan Soto’s potential extension and team payroll sparked a widespread debate amongst the analysts.
Generational star Juan Soto is entering free agency next year to restart the market and chase off-season records. However, Hal Steinbrenner was expected to make an extension bid mid-season. But that does not seem to be on the cards momentarily as Hal Steinbrenner voiced his concerns on club’s soaring and ‘unsustainable’ payroll.
Ken Rosenthal Refuses To Buy Hal Steinbrenner’s ‘Unsustainable’ Payroll Remarks
Hal Steinbrenner played with the New York Yankees fans with his dual stands this MLB season. In his first media appearance, the managing partner said that he wished to see generational star Juan Soto spend the rest of his career in the Bronx, which means the club is not ruling out a mid-season extension possibility. However, just a week later, Steinbrenner changed his tone completely. In another interview, the Yankee owner revealed that Yanks’ present payroll is unsustainable for the majority investing groups, given the hefty taxes they pay in penalties. Notably, Bombers payroll this season exceeded the maximum luxury tax threshold of $297 million, and hence, the club had to pay over $30 million in taxes for its $302 million annual payroll.
However, Hal Steinbrenner said that the Yankees must reduce the payroll in the given future, which essentially reduced the odds of Juan Soto’s extension. That being said, MLB analyst Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic completely ripped Steinbrenner for his nonsensical remarks. Rosenthal challenged the franchise owner to open his books to the public and prove that it’s unsustainable for a billion-dollar franchise to embrace a $300 million payroll. Ken added that he understands the idea behind not wanting to have a trend of posing $300 million payroll on a consistent basis. But to call it unsustainable is madness. Rosenthal refused to buy a single word of Hal’s latest comments on Yanks payroll concerns. “My takeaway was along the lines of an owner essentially crying poor who has the richest team,” Rosenthal said on Foul Territory.
Yankees Owner Not Giving Up On Juan Soto Despite Payroll Issues
After much criticism, New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner clarified that despite having unsustainable payroll, he is not giving up on Juan Soto’s extension aspirations. Hal explained that by the end of 2024 season, the club has a lot of money coming off the books since many expensive contracts are expiring this season. That didn’t necessarily happen this year.
And that’s why, the New York Yankees ended up with an excessive payroll. Notably, Gleyber Torres, Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo, and Clay Holmes are amongst the many impending free agents on the roster. Besides, ex-Yankee busts Aaron Hicks and Josh Donaldson’s contract obligations will also expire, thus making additional space on the payroll for Juan Soto. It would be interesting to see how Hal Steinbrenner navigates the next off-season.
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