Jeff Passan puts Hal Steinbrenner, Yankees on blast as NY hides behind luxury tax excuse

The New York Yankees have responded nicely to the crushing blow that was Juan Soto departing for their crosstown rivals by acquiring players like Max Fried, Devin Williams, Cody Bellinger, and Paul Goldschmidt. Those additions combined with a noticeably weak American League have the Yankees as possible favorites to get back to the World Series even without Soto. Getting to the World Series, however, isn't the ultimate goal. The Yankees are trying to win their first World Series title since 2009, and it feels as if the roster that they have just isn't good enough.

Fried, Williams, Bellinger, and Goldschmidt plugged most of the holes on New York's roster, but there are still a couple of others to address. First, the Yankees need a reliever — preferably one who throws left-handed. Their interest in Tim Hill would help in that regard, but they face a ton of competition on that front. Second, and perhaps more importantly, the Yankees need another infielder. Goldschmidt, Anthony Volpe, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. make up 75 percent of the infield, but the fourth position is vacant - or at least that's how it should be treated as of now.

With the way their roster looks, the Yankees will plan on having a competition between DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Oswald Peraza for their vacancy. If that's what ends up happening, Brian Cashman will have failed, plain and simple.

While Cashman must find ways to upgrade these positions of weakness, he doesn't have the final say. Owner Hal Steinbrenner is in charge of the budget, and based on how the Yankees have been acting, it's as if the fourth and final luxury tax threshold is impeding their ability to add more to their roster. That's right, the New York Yankees are scared off by a luxury tax.

In an appearance on The Michael Kay Show, ESPN's Jeff Passan wasn't shy when it came to ripping Steinbrenner and the Yankees for their frugal spending.

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Jeff Passan rips Yankees for frugal spending compared to NL rivals

To their credit, the Yankees do have the third-highest luxury payroll in MLB at a little over $291 million per Spotrac. That figure would put the Yankees just below the final luxury tax threshold. As impressive as that might seem, as Passan notes, they aren't spending like the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets.

The Dodgers have lapped the field when it comes to spending, boasting a current luxury tax payroll of just under $370 million and deferring over $1 billion in order to build one of the best teams in the sport's history. The Mets might not be at $300 million right now, but they're still willing to spend money, and have exceeded that number in each of the last two seasons.

Sure, the 60 percent surcharge penalty that takes place when teams enter that last threshold sounds scary, but it has not stopped the Dodgers and Mets from entering it. That didn't even stop the Yankees from entering it last season. Their fear of the luxury tax was evident in the Juan Soto negotiations. Instead of bumping their AAV as Soto's agent, Scott Boras, had requested, the Yankees instead chose to add an extra year to the contract to keep the AAV lower, helping them with the luxury tax. That isn't the only reason why Soto ended up departing, but it probably didn't help.

These are the New York Yankees that we're talking about here. They're supposed to set the standard, not play third fiddle when it comes to spending as Passan noted.

The Yankees need an infielder, why are they not involved with Alex Bregman? Why are they not even linked to Ha-Seong Kim? Why does it feel as if they must dump Marcus Stroman's contract in order to make another move?

Each and every year, the Yankees say they're World Series or bust. In each of the last 15 years, the Yankees have failed to reach their ultimate goal, and yet, instead of going all-out to try and win it all, they're shying away from spending to the best of their ability. Steinbrenner might not have the funds that the Dodgers or Steve Cohen do, but he certainly can spend more than he has with how much revenue the Yankees generate.

Given that simple fact, he deserves to be criticized for drawing a hard line in the sand, and Passan made sure to emphasize that.