Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner refuses to answer salary cap questions

NEW YORK — New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner declined to say Monday whether he favors a salary cap proposal in the upcoming collective bargaining agreement but reiterated that he could support a salary floor.

“I don’t feel like I’m in a position right now research-wise, knowledge-wise to answer that question,” Steinbrenner said in a video conference call from Tampa. “We will always be among the highest paid. We always have been. We always will be.”

In February, Steinbrenner said he could support a salary cap proposal as long as it included a mandatory minimum wage. MLB has had a luxury tax since 2003 but is one of only four major US professional leagues without a salary cap.

“Something that would be fair enough that it would improve the competitive balance in the sport,” Steinbrenner said when asked about the possible salary floor. “A lot of fans are already arguing that it’s not enough. I think we’ve done some things in the last 10 years that we’ve done but as an industry we’re probably nowhere near where we should be, at least that’s what the majority of fans believe and there are a lot of ways to attack.”

At the end of the regular season and not including contract bonuses, the Yankees had a payroll of $301 million and a projected luxury tax bill of $62 million. The Yankees had Major League Baseball’s highest payroll for 15 straight years until 2013 but have not led in payroll since, even though they have paid more than $500 million in luxury taxes in 21 of 23 seasons.

The crosstown Mets signed Juan Soto to a record $765 million, 15-year contract after his lone season with the Yankees and forfeited the playoffs with $340 million in salary and $89 million in luxury taxes.

The Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays in seven games to win their second straight World Series and finish the regular season with a payroll of $341.5 million and a luxury tax bill of $168 million — and that’s not including the $6.5 million signing bonus for Roki Sasaki on a minor league contract.

Six of the 12 postseason teams have payrolls of $200 million or more, with the Boston Red Sox nearly $500,000 short of the mark.

Since 1995 when extended play began, 22 teams have won the World Series in the first 10 in the opening day. Since the Yankees last won the title in 2009, only four teams have won the World Series in the top three of the payroll: the 2018 Red Sox, and the 2020, 2024 and 2025 Dodgers.

Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1, 2026, and administrative lockouts have become the norm, moving the start of the shutdown to the offseason. During final negotiations, the sides reached a five-year deal on March 10 after a 99-day lockout, saving the 162-game 2022 season that was delayed by a week.

An administrative salary cap proposal may include a salary floor and a guaranteed percentage of earnings to players. Baseball players have endured nine work stoppages, including a 7 1/2-month strike in 1994-95 that fought the cap proposal.

The Yankees retained Trent Gresham when he accepted a $22 million, one-year qualifying offer. Gresham was one of a record four players accepted along with Detroit second baseman Gleyber Torres, Chicago Cubs left-hander Shota Imanga and Milwaukee right-hander Brandon Woodruff.

The Yankees are expected to make an aggressive effort to retain Cody Bellinger, who was paid $27.5 million last season.

The Cubs sent $5 million to the Yankees when they traded Bellinger and the versatile outfielder batted .272 with 29 homers and 98 RBI under the first two player options for $80 million as part of a three-year deal.

“Would it be ideal if I went down (with our salary)? Of course,” Steinbrenner said. “But does that mean it’s going to happen? Absolutely not. We want to field a team that we know we believe can win a championship.

“It hasn’t changed just because salaries are probably going up every year. That doesn’t mean they’re not going to go down a little bit one year and then up the year after that. It all depends on what’s out there and what the prospects are and how much I feel like we’re able or we need to pull the trigger on those prospects.”