The New York Yankees were dealt devastating news when it was revealed that Gerrit Cole had suffered a season-ending elbow injury before the regular season even began. The right-hander will undergo Tommy John surgery, knocking him out for part of the 2026 campaign as well.
Given the severity of Cole's injury, Yankees fans are eager to see Brian Cashman make a major move. After all, just days after losing Juan Soto to the New York Mets, he went out and brought in a slew of players to prepare for the 2025 campaign. Unfortunately, Cashman made it pretty clear on Tuesday that Yankees fans should not expect a Cole replacement to walk through the doors anytime soon.
Part of Cashman's reasoning for not adding a Cole replacement right now made sense. He said "very little is available" in the marketplace, which makes a lot of sense. This injury did not occur in December at the height of free agency – it occurred in March with only a couple of weeks to go ahead of Opening Day. Teams are pretty content with where they are roster-wise right now, and free agency isn't flooded with ideal options. Given that, it makes sense that Cashman said the Yankees will "rely on what we have internally for the time being.
The lack of quality options available isn't the only reason Cashman says that the Yankees are sticking with their internal options, though. He said that luxury tax penalties they'd take on by making another addition make it "less likely" that they will add an external option. That's concerning.
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Yankees refusal to add Gerrit Cole replacement comes down to Hal Steinbrenner's wallet
It isn't hard to see why Cashman is operating like this. The Yankees' luxury tax payroll currently is at $293.8 million according to Spotrac, the fourth-highest in all of baseball. New York is already over three of the four luxury tax tiers and are roughly $3 million shy of the fourth and last tier, otherwise known as the "Cohen Tax." If the Yankees were to swim in those waters, they'd be taxed a 110 percent charge on every dollar above the $297 million mark that they were to spend. That's a ton of money, and Steinbrenner is unwilling to pay that hefty tax.
It'd make sense for a small-market owner to shy away from the "Cohen Tax," but the reality is that the Yankees generate more revenue than just about any other team. I mean, these are the New York Yankees we're talking about here. Steinbrenner absolutely has the money to spend, and does not want to spend it.
This puts the Yankees in a tough spot. For now, Steinbrenner's refusal to spend isn't the end of the world, as the Yankees still have Fried, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, Marcus Stroman, and Will Warren healthy. Luis Gil is also set to return this season, even if Yankees fans have to wait a while to see him. If someone suffers an injury, though, the Yankees don't have any semblance of depth. That's where Steinbrenner's refusal to spend will become extremely problematic. Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, and Spencer Turnbull are free agents - there's no reason for the Yankees to not go out and sign one of those veterans to add depth other than Steinbrenner being cheap.
It's unrealistic to expect Sandy Alcantara or Dylan Cease to suddenly appear right now, but what if they become available in July? Will Cashman and Steinbrenner refuse to trade for an arm of that caliber just for financial reasons? Hopefully, that is not the case.