Yankees Owner Doesn't Rule Out 'Big Acquisition', Defends Limited Spending

New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner has refused to close the door on his team making a big acquisition before the start of the campaign in the face of rumors linking them with moves for Manny Machado and Bryce Harper.

The New York franchise has thus far prioritized re-signing key players like CC Sabathia, Brett Gardner, J.A. Happ, and Zack Britton and acquired James Paxton, Adam Ottavino, DJ LeMahieu, and Troy Tulowitzki.

But the Yankees fans were hoping that the team would make a big signing in order to challenge the likes of the Boston Red Sox – the 2018 World Series winners – and the Los Angeles Dodgers for the championship. There have been talks about the owner pocketing most of the money and the team being “cheap”.

“If there's a narrative that we're not spending money and being cheap, it's just false," Steinbrenner said, as quoted the New York Post. "I mean, we're well above $200 million [in payroll] -- we're at $220 [million] right now -- and we're well above where we were last year. We did everything we wanted to do to really improve, again, the pitching, because that's where I wanted improvement, because as far as I'm concerned pitching was a big problem in the division series, more so than anything else."

Machado, who is the second most sought-after free agent this offseason, is said to prefer a move to New York and even met with the Yankees in December. They were touted as favorites but quickly dropped down in the pecking order after it became clear they will not meet the shortstop’s demands of a long-term contract worth over $300 million.

The Yankees have since fallen behind the Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies in the race for Machado. But Steinbrenner has indicated that they are still not done and could make some moves before Opening Day. He urged the fans to keep an open mind until the final day when teams can sign players.

“I wouldn’t be surprised [with another big acquisition] because these guys come to me all the time with stuff,” he said talking about his front office operations. “I can’t tell you if, 17 days from now, they come to me with some kind of proposal that I say no or I say yes. I just can’t tell you that right now.”

“Fans should keep an open mind that I’m never done until I’m done, and that’s usually not until Opening Day,” Steinbrenner added. "Proposals come to me every day with these guys, between the analytics guys and the pro scouting guys, and I’m going to consider every single one of them.”