Yankees fans may have written off Jacoby Ellsbury, but the team’s accountants can’t. Moving his salary might be the key to signing Bryce Harper this winter.
Lots of Yankee fans have completely forgotten that Jacoby Ellsbury is still a member of the organization. After all, he missed the entire 2018 season due to a litany of injuries. Unfortunately for Brian Cashman and company, the team still owes him over $42 million over the next two seasons. That contract is definitely putting a limit on what the team can do in free agency this winter.
Cashman isn’t under a strict directive to keep payroll under the luxury tax, but it’s obvious Hal Steinbrenner doesn’t want to blow the rest of the league out of the water in terms of salary. He wants the front office to make smart buys. In other words, the payroll isn’t going to rise to an astronomical total like $300 million over the next few months.
That doesn’t mean the Yankees can’t sign big name free agents. In fact, it would be a major shock if they don’t come away with a few big-ticket players before all is said and done. The gaping holes in Aaron Boone’s starting rotation will require Cashman to spend big (either in terms of prospects or money) to solidify the pitching staff. That obviously reduces the amount the Yankees can spend on position players.
That’s a real issue when you consider the fact that two young, legitimate superstars are on the open market. Manny Machado has been widely discussed as a potential target for the Yankees. He could play shortstop while Didi Gregorius recovers from Tommy John Surgery and then move to third base after the captain returns. That may make Miguel Andujar expendable, but Machado is a superstar. The organization may decide the upgrade is worth the price.
Most people have assumed that signing both Machado and Bryce Harper will be out of the Yankees’ financial grasp. Admittedly, Cashman landing both players, in addition to two front line starters is unlikely. Moving Ellsbury’s bloated contract might allow the Yankees enough flexibility to pull it off though.
For the record, no one is going to take Ellsbury off the team’s hands for free. The Yankees will need to effectively salary dump him. That mean they’ll need to take on a different form of distressed salary or attach a prospect or two to sweeten the deal. If freeing up cash to sign Harper is the goal, you can safely assume including prospects will be the route Cashman chooses.
If that happens, the Yankees would suddenly have over $20 million per season to work with. That’s not enough to sign Harper, but it might be two/thirds of what’s required. Jettisoning Ellsbury would also open up a valuable outfield roster spot in the Bronx. There’s been a lot of chatter about Harper potentially moving to first base, but he’s still a good outfielder at this stage of his career. He could easily profile as the team’s starting left fielder next season without Ellsbury in the way.
Even if Harper isn’t the objective, dumping Ellsbury’s salary could still be a great move for the Yankees. The chances of him helping the team in 2019 are pretty remote. His salary could certainly be spent on a free agent who could help the Yankees close the gap on Boston.