Yankees' Brian Cashman Says NY Is Open to Adding Pitching: 'We're Not Pencils Down'

The New York Yankees may already be heading into 2024 with the most expensive payroll in the MLB, but that doesn't mean general manager Brian Cashman is done yet.

"We're not pencils down by any means," Cashman said when asked about adding another pitcher, per Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record.

The Yankees pitching rotation, led by 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole, features a new addition in Marcus Stroman and two players returning from injury-shortened seasons in Carlos Rodón and Nestor Cortes.

Free-agent starters Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery remain on the market, but could cost the Yankees a steep price in luxury tax.

The Yankees had a $32.3 million bill due Jan. 21 thanks to spending over the MLB's luxury tax threshold in 2023, trailing only the New York Mets and the San Diego Padres for the highest luxury tax bills in the league.

Between 2003 and 2023, MLB teams have paid a total of $901 million in luxury taxes. According to the Associated Press, the Yankees have accounted for 43 percent of the total by paying out $390 million over that time frame.

The Yankees are currently set to exceed the highest luxury tax threshold again next season. Because it will be their third straight year exceeding the threshold, the team will be paying an increasing tax rate for any dollars spent over the threshold.

With their current roster, Cot's Contracts projects the Yankees' competitive balance tax (CBT) tax to come out to just under $50 million next season.

Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner previously said that he didn't believe the team should need to continue increasing the size of the team's historically large payroll to win.

"I do believe that a team shouldn't need a $300 million payroll," Steinbrenner said in November, per NJ.com's Max Goodman. "The Rangers didn't, the Astros didn't."

But if the Yankees want to add one of the remaining top free-agent pitchers, they will need to pay up. The Yankees have already made an offer for Snell which was "very far apart" from what the free agent was seeking, according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman.

ESPN's David Schoenfield has projected a $150 million, six-year contract for Snell and a $106 million, five-year deal for Montgomery. If the Yankees are going to commit that kind of money to a free agent, they may decide to move other contracts off their books in a separate deal.