New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner sat down to address the team's offseason, the future of manager Aaron Boone and the franchise's young stars in an interview with YES Network Tuesday. He also spoke to one of baseball's hottest topics: how do you keep up with the Los Angeles Dodgers?
The Dodgers signed Blake Snell to a five-year, $182 million contract in November and followed that up with a five-year, $74 million deal for outfielder Tommy Edman a few days later. The offseason spending didn't end there, though, with the defending World Series champions committing $445.5 million in guaranteed dollars this winter, according to The Athletic. They signed the coveted Japanese pitching prospect Roki Sasaki, then brought in top free agent reliever Tanner Scott on a four-year, $72 million contract a few days later.
L.A.'s rampant spending to stay competitive begs the question of how other MLB teams keep pace, even for the high-rolling Yankees. Steinbrenner acknowledged the Dodgers' shopping spree can't be reproduced, but a lot still needs to go right to bring home the Commissioner's Trophy after the World Series.
"Well, look, it's difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that [the Dodgers are] doing," Steinbrenner said to Meredith Marakovits of YES Network via Brendan Kuty of The Athletic. "Now, we'll see if it pays off. They still have to have a season relatively injury-free for it to work out for them, and it's a long season, as you know, and once you get to the postseason, anything can happen. We've seen that time and time again."
Steinbrenner is optimistic about his own team, no matter the landscape, boldly claiming that the Yankees have a better team now than one season ago, even after Juan Soto chose to sign with the New York Mets. The Yankees signed Paul Goldschmit and traded for Cody Bellinger to help fill the offensive gap left by Soto's departure. They splurged themselves on free agent pitcher Max Fried, with an eight-year, $218 million deal.
Although this offseason is about keeping up with the Dodgers, Steinbrenner is optimistic for his Yankees in 2025.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Yankees Owner Firmly Addresses Dodgers' Spending: 'We'll See If It Pays Off'.
