Do the Yankees need to embrace their Evil Empire mantra once again, and break the bank to turn their fortunes around this winter?
C-Mac says the 2023 playoffs have proven that is not the case.
“The Dodgers, this year, after taking a step back, were the fifth highest payroll in baseball,” C-Mac said. “One through seven, Philadelphia is the only team to win a playoff game, from payrolls one through seven. That’s it. Mets, Yankees, San Diego, didn’t make it. Then Philadelphia four, Dodgers at five got swept, Angels at six didn’t make it, Toronto at seven got swept. And Atlanta, at eight, won one playoff game.
“The seven highest payrolls in baseball, only Philadelphia has won a playoff game. It’s not necessarily about spending money. It’s part of it, and it’s part of the reason guys like Hal Steinbrenner will look at it and say ‘I don’t need to spend that much money. Texas is going to the World Series with $195 million in payroll. Why do I need to double that?’”
Steinbrenner has stated publicly that he doesn’t believe it takes a $300 million payroll to win a title, so the Yanks likely won’t be going on an unhinged spending spree this offseason. But C-Mac says it’s more about how you spend, not how much.
“It’s about spending money on some level, but it’s about spending smart money,” C-Mac said. “Hal Steinbrenner has provided enough money to the New York Yankees to win. Brian Cashman hasn’t done a good enough job with that $276 million to build a winning team.”
