Yankees infield quagmire shows exactly why Juan Soto chose to take Steve Cohen's cash

Brian Cashman has, for the most part, done an admirable job addressing the New York Yankees' various needs after the team fell short in the Juan Soto sweepstakes last month. Sure, losing Soto was a setback New York was never going to completely recover from, but Cody Bellinger is a solid player, Devin Williams is a significant upgrade on the departed Clay Holmes and Max Fried gives the rotation a big-time shot in the arm. Heck, even Paul Goldschmidt, while nowhere near his MVP prime at this point, should provide a lot more production than the team got from Anthony Rizzo last season.

And yet, despite all that work, this roster remains unfinished. There's one more box for Cashman to check: an infielder to replace the departed Gleyber Torres. It could be a second baseman, or even a third baseman that slides Jazz Chisholm Jr. over to the keystone; as long as it's better than DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera, it doesn't much matter.

But with just a month or so to go until pitchers and catchers report, it doesn't look like that infielder is coming. The Yankees have been linked with nearly every possible candidate, from Alex Bregman to Nolan Arenado to Gavin Lux to Luis Arraez. But those candidates keep landing elsewhere, while Opening Day gets closer and closer. And now it appears as though we know why: Once again, Hal Steinbrenner has gone cheap at the final hurdle.

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Hal Steinbrenner won't let the Yankees spend what they need to complete the roster

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic offered an update on the situation in the Bronx on Saturday, and it's not one that fans are going to like. It seems that the Yankees' failure to land an impact infielder so far this winter comes down to one thing: money. Specifically, Steinbrenner's unwillingness to spend it, at least past a certain point.

New York's moves so far this winter have brought its payroll number up to $303 million, just over the final (and the harshest) luxury tax threshold of $301 million. Steinbrenner over the years has repeatedly refused to stay above that threshold for very long, and sure enough, it sounds like the Yankees' priority has shifted to cutting costs.

"The Yankees want to clear money to acquire an infielder," Rosenthal reports, "and not a particularly high-priced one, according to sources briefed on their plans."

The only way to clear significant money would be to find a trade partner for Marcus Stroman and his $18 million salary. But even if New York did manage to send him elsewhere, it would have to pay down at least some of that money — and that wouldn't leave very much room to operate. The math is pretty simple: If Steinbrenner refuses to operate past a certain level of payroll, his team's options are limited, and his roster will be stuck carrying at least one weak spot into the 2025 season.

All of which should have Yankees fans irate, if they weren't already. Steve Cohen wooed Soto away from the Bronx by refusing to pinch pennies, whether it came to the outfielder's family or the New York Mets' roster. Granted, Cohen's net worth makes him a unicorn even among MLB owners, but these are the Yankees were talking about — they're one of the richest franchises on Earth, and it's inexcusable to cry poor rather than building the best possible roster ahead of a season that should be World Series-or-bust.

Alas, once again, that's not where Steinbrenner's head is at. And when New York's lineup is bogged down in part by the inevitable struggles of LeMahieu or whatever other internal option at second base, Yankees fans will know where to lay the blame.