Category: Sports News

The 2026 World Series matchup between the Tampa Bay Rays (boo!) and the Milwaukee Brewers (yay!) kicked off last night, and that can only mean one thing: the season is officially almost at a close. There are at most six games remaining, and baseball will be over after Halloween. Pretty soon, the stadium lights will dim, the locker rooms will go quite, and the hot stove will slowly begin to heat up as the winter begins.

The next few months will be even more hectic than usual. Not only will we be discussing potential free agent and trade targets, as we try to project how the Yankees might look to improve their squad for next season, we will also be following along the CBA negotiations, as Rob Manfred and the league owners attempt to engage in some ol’ fashioned robber baron-esque union busting. In order to prepare for these discussions — and to give you some good, hard data to cite when arguing with your friends — let’s take a look at where the Yankees’ payroll stands today.

Note: All guaranteed contracts are taken from Spotrac, and all arbitration estimates are taken from MLB Trade Rumors; as always, given how much more focus the Yankees seem to place on luxury tax values than how much money is actually paid out in a given year, all numbers are based on their luxury tax hit.

Guaranteed Money

The Yankees currently have seven players, including three-fifths of the starting rotation, under contract for the 2027 season, with a combined luxury tax hit of $212.4 million — more than the entire payrolls of 19 teams. Despite the large number, though, the Yankees are actually in fairly decent shape financially, at least in terms of the old rules: only three players (Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Max Fried) are under contract past the 2028 season, and the players who provide the least value relative to their salary (Giancarlo Stanton and Ryan McMahon) have only one year remaining. Furthermore, because of Cody Bellinger’s opt-out (represented by the asterisks), his luxury tax hit for this upcoming season is substantially higher than it will be for the final four years of the deal—assuming he does not opt out, that is—due to the way Major League Baseball calculates these things.

As a rather fun aside, with Aaron Hicks and DJ LeMahieu finally off the books, the Yankees enter this winter with no dead money for the first time in years; it is presently unclear just how long this will remain true. Indeed, Stanton and McMahon stand out as potential options for dead money in 2027 should the Yankees decide that they’d rather eat their contracts than guarantee them roster spots.

Arbitration-Eligible

MLB Trade Rumors projects the Yankees to have nine players eligible for arbitration this winter, with projected salaries ranging from $2.3 to $11 million. While we don’t yet know for sure whether the Yankees will actually tender contracts to all nine of these players — Fernando Cruz’s elbow injury and Luis Gil’s struggles (as well as his own injury history) make them likely candidates for release, while the high salaries relative to their health/production of Anthony Volpe, José Caballero, Heliot Ramos, and Clarke Schmidt might put them in at least mild jeopardy as well.

Pre-Arbitration

Technically, with no CBA signed, we do not know what the minimum salary will be for the 2027 season. We do have an upper and lower bound, though. Major League Baseball’s proposal from June pitched a minimum salary of $1 million, and MLBPA’s proposal from May advocated for a $1.5 million minimum. As such, although we don’t have concrete figures, we can nonetheless get a ballpark estimate as to how much the pre-arbitration salaries will cost.

As with the arbitration-eligible players, there’s a good chance that not everybody on this list will be tendered a contract. Punchless backup catcher Ali Sánchez and relievers Bradley Hanner, Kervin Castro, and Brendan Beck are just four players off the top of my head who should definitely not sign a one-year lease in the New York metropolitan area, at least until the non-tender deadline has passed.

Final Tally

As things currently stand, the Yankees 2027 luxury tax payroll sits somewhere between $265.1 and $273.1 million, or roughly $40 to $50 million below the Yankees’ 2026 payroll of $313 million (note: I removed player benefits and other non-payroll factors from the luxury tax equation, for the sake of consistency). While it remains to be seen how the CBA shakes out, and what the exact financial rules will be going forward, this gives us a rough estimate as to how much money the Yankees currently have at their disposal even if they aren’t looking to add to increase the team payroll in 2027.

And you’re saying, “Who?”

The Cubs signed Tyler Austin last December. He had played parts of four seasons for the Yankees, Twins, Giants and Brewers from 2016-19, then played six years for Yokohama in NPB, batting .293/.377/.568 with 85 home runs in 403 games.

The idea was for him to be a right-handed hitting backup first baseman to Michael Busch. And it might have worked: Austin hit .253/.345/.539 with 18 home runs in 217 MLB at-bats vs. LHP in those four seasons.

Unfortunately, Austin suffered some sort of knee injury and was ruled out before he played a single game for the team:

Cubs manager Craig Counsell announced that Austin underwent right knee surgery on Tuesday and would be out “months” as he recovers. The 34-year-old Austin required a right patellar tendon debridement procedure after his knee “didn’t respond well” in early camp workouts.

And “months” turned into “the entire season.” The Cubs paid Austin $1.2 million for this lost season.

Austin turned 35 during his season on the 60-day injured list. He did at least get to meet some of his teammates did participate in at least one team workout, as shown at the top of this post. And he also posed for photos in a Cubs uniform on Photo Day last Feb. 17:

Those, however, are likely the only times you will ever see Tyler Austin in a Cubs uniform. The team can certainly find a healthier, younger option to be a backup first baseman for Busch for 2027. I’m writing about him only because I decided I’d write an article about all 17 Cubs who are free agents this offseason or have a team or player option, and he is certainly one of those players. (See this StoryStream for the rest of the articles.)

Thanks, Tyler, and we wish you well.

The Yankees have agreed on a three-year contract extension with pitching coach Matt Blake, per multiple reports.

Blake, 41, was hired as the team's pitching coach ahead of the 2020 MLB season.

He will now remain in that role until at least the conclusion of the 2029 MLB season.

Since 2020, the Yankees trail just the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers in with a stellar 3.69 team ERA, are tied with the Seattle Mariners for third best in team WHIP (1.21), and rank fifth-best in K/9 (9.18).

While Blake has been able to rely on acquired stars in his pitching staff, such as Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Max Fried, he has also played a significant role in the farm system graduates both making the jump to and establishing themselves in the big leagues.

This includes most notably presumptive 2026 AL Cy Young winner Cam Schlittler, but also Will Warren, who continues to improve as a underappreciated back-end rotation arm. And while Luis Gil has had two straight seasons riddled with injuries and inconsistency, he did earn the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year award as a standout starter.

Additionally, Nestor Cortes Jr. bloomed under Blake. "Nasty Nestor" broke out in his third stint as a Yankee as a 26-year-old on a minor-league contract, earning a promotion to become a fan favorite starting pitcher in 2021, then earning All-Star honors and an eighth place finish in AL Cy Young voting during a career-best 2022 campaign.

Most recently, in 2026, Blake oversaw the transformation of Paul Blackburn from run-of-the-mill starting pitcher into lethal multi-inning bullpen arm, the emergence of southpaw Brent Headrick as a premier setup man, and the successful post-trade-deadline free agent additions of John Schreiber and Michael Fulmer to aid a thin bullpen at a crucial time in the regular season.

Of course kids love baseball. Everybody loves baseball. But the lost games, canceled World Series and changed landscape left behind by the 1994–95 players’ strike remind us that the business side of the game we love is anything but child’s play.

More than 30 years later, Major League Baseball is once again approaching a potential work stoppage that could leave the Colorado Rockies with less than a month to conduct much of their offseason business.

MLB’s free-agent market opens shortly after the World Series, with players permitted to sign with new teams five days after the final out. But the current collective bargaining agreement expires December 1, and another lockout is widely anticipated.

Meanwhile, MLB’s owners have proposed a salary floor and cap that could eventually change how much teams are required to spend.

For Colorado, that raises a few questions: How much money might the Rockies have to spend, how quickly should they act, and where should they invest it?

A salary floor? Not so fast

Under MLB’s initial proposal, teams would operate between a $171.2 million salary floor and a $245.3 million cap in 2027.

Before looking ahead, it helps to understand where Colorado stood financially in 2026. The Rockies’ estimated 2026 cash payroll was $120 million, with a competitive balance tax (CBT) payroll of $138 million, ranking them 21st in MLB by cash payroll.

2026 MLB payroll comparison

Source: FanGraphs RosterResource. Estimated 2026 payroll figures, rounded to the nearest million. Rankings based on cash payroll.

Looking ahead to 2027, Colorado’s projected CBT payroll is in the neighborhood of $110 million, potentially leaving the Rockies roughly $60 million below the proposed minimum.

That’s not exactly pocket change.

Now, an offseason where the Rockies suddenly have to spend another $60 million would be tremendously entertaining. I’d happily spend November dreaming up ways to convince Tarik Skubal to pitch at Coors Field on a one-year deal.

Unfortunately, that’s probably not where these negotiations are headed.

For starters, CBT payroll isn’t the same as cash payroll. It uses the average annual value of contracts and includes arbitration estimates, benefits and other obligations. The precise gap also depends on how those costs are calculated under a new agreement.

More importantly, the MLB Players Association has opposed the owners’ proposed salary cap, and neither the cap nor the accompanying salary floor has been agreed upon.

As Andy McCullough reported for The Athletic, the proposal includes a negotiated transition period, with one executive suggesting implementation could take years.

So the proposed floor might mean bupkis for Colorado’s immediate offseason. There’s no established requirement for the Rockies to add $60 million to their 2027 payroll.

But another deadline is approaching much faster.

November could get busy

Predicting what Paul DePodesta and Josh Byrnes might do is difficult. Their first offseason in Colorado was already abbreviated by their late arrival, and a potential lockout could make their second one unusual for entirely different reasons.

But they were hardly inactive. Despite limited time, the new front office made substantial changes to the roster, including bringing in several players on major-league contracts.

They’ve already shown they’re willing to make moves.

As McCullough reported, executives and agents anticipate an accelerated free-agent market ahead of a potential December 1 lockout. Players and teams alike could look to complete deals before a work stoppage disrupts normal business. The middle tier of free agency could be particularly active.

For Colorado, that’s an opportunity worth taking seriously.

The Rockies should enter November with their targets identified, evaluations completed and financial parameters established. Acting quickly doesn’t mean signing players out of desperation. It means being prepared to move when an opportunity presents itself.

The answer is pitching

Looking back at the Rockies’ free-agent activity under previous front offices offers a pretty good blueprint for what not to do.

The results have ranged from expensive disasters like Kris Bryant’s seven-year, $182 million contract to bargain finds like C.J. Cron, who initially joined Colorado on a minor-league deal.

And the Rockies haven’t been unwilling to spend money on pitching. Ahead of the 2018 season, they committed a combined $106 million to relievers Wade Davis, Bryan Shaw and Jake McGee.

But when it came to adding outside starting pitching, Colorado’s approach was considerably more conservative.

Rockies MLB free-agent starting pitcher signings from outside the organization

Outside starting pitchers signed to major-league free-agent contracts. Excludes minor-league deals, extensions, re-signings, trades and waiver claims.

Seven offseasons. Two outside starters.

DePodesta and Byrnes signed three in their first winter alone. Not every move worked, but the change in approach is hard to miss.

And with Colorado’s rotation finishing 2026 with a 6.28 ERA, the worst in baseball, that approach needs to continue.

So, what comes next?

The Rockies could use a right-handed corner outfielder and a defense-first backup catcher. But the biggest need is obvious.

Pitching. And lots of it.

That doesn’t mean bringing back every familiar veteran or signing another pitcher because he was good three years ago.

Colorado needs new arms, different arms, and as many legitimate options as possible.

Beyond traditional major-league free agency, that means exploring the Japanese and Korean markets, pursuing trades and aggressively adding minor-league pitching depth.

The minor-league market could be particularly interesting with a lockout looming. Minor leaguers have a separate CBA extending through December 2027, meaning players outside the major-league bargaining unit can generally continue developing even if MLB shuts down.

And the opportunities for organizational improvement could extend beyond the field.

Ryan Spilborghs raised an interesting possibility on a recent podcast: If other organizations make staffing cuts during a lockout, Colorado could have an opportunity to bring in experienced talent to the analytics department.

The Rockies are already working to strengthen their scouting and analytical departments. They reportedly added veteran scout Steve Barningham, and the organization is actively recruiting a senior or lead baseball analytics analyst.

For those interested in applying, applications are open through October 30.

The Rockies have the money. They have obvious needs. And whether it’s acquiring players before a shutdown or improving the organization during one, they have opportunities to make progress.

They don’t have to win the offseason. But they have every reason to be involved in it.

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Before the Yankees were the Babe Ruth-led behemoth that took the baseball world by storm in the ‘20s, they were the laughingstock of the American League. Between 1913, their last year as the Highlanders, and 1914, their first as the Yankees, the team went 107-196. Things got bad enough that there were rumors the team might flip to the upstart Federal League, a nascent third major league that threatened the AL and NL.

Determined not to lose his New York franchise, AL president Ban Johnson worked behind the scenes during the 1914-15 offseason to strengthen the team’s roster, making it more attractive for a prospective new ownership group. He did so by encouraging the rest of the league’s teams to sell the Yankees useful players at a reasonable price. The first team to heed his call was the Tigers, who sold New York two players: a first-base prospect named Wally Pipp and a 27-year-old outfielder named Hugh High.

Hugh Jenkins High
Born: October 24, 1887 (Pottstown, PA)
Died: November 16, 1962 (St. Louis, MO)
Yankees Tenure: 1915-18

High grew up in a family of 13 kids, three of whom would eventually play in the big leagues. The Highs were an itinerant bunch, living first in Pennsylvania, then New Jersey, then Illinois, and finally St. Louis in Hugh’s youth. He played semi-pro ball while serving as a plumber’s apprentice, making the jump to pro ball only after completing his obligation. He played well enough at Class-B Hartford of the Connecticut State League to draw the attention of several teams, including the Giants, who purchased his contract for $2,500 but ended up selling him back to Hartford for the same amount before he was able to join New York. High kept performing the next season and was once again a sought-after commodity, with the Tigers securing his services for the 1913 season.

High joined a crowded outfield picture in Detroit, with future Hall of Famers Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford as well as Bobby Veach, who’d finish a 14-year career with 2,063 hits and a .310 lifetime average. Still, he cracked the roster as a reserve outfielder and saw an expanded role early on with Cobb holding out due to a contract dispute and Veach on the shelf with an ankle injury. High played well enough that, when the roster returned to full strength, both Cobb and Crawford were briefly moved to the infield in separate stints to keep the rookie in the everyday lineup. While his raw stats never wowed, High was valued for his situational hitting and defense and developed a close relationship with the team’s manager, another future Hall of Famer named Hughie Jennings.

High improved in his second campaign, getting on base at a .363 clip while continuing to impress with his glove. The following offseason, the Tigers sold the talented youngster to New York to assuage Johnson’s concerns. His first season in pinstripes would be a career year. Finally given a full-time opportunity, he played in a career-high 119 games and showed some more pop, notching 27 extra-base hits after hitting 15 in the previous two years combined. High also swiped 22 bags, showcasing an all-around skill set that was an asset to a Yankees team still searching for an identity.

Prior to the start of the 1916 campaign, the Yankees continued to beef up their roster, headlined by the addition of future Hall of Famer Frank “Home Run” Baker. They put up their first winning season since their days as the Highlanders with High firmly entrenched in left, continuing to get on base consistently and play fundamentally sound baseball. He dealt with an ankle injury for much of the year, though, a harbinger for what was ahead.

The next offseason, High dealt with blood poisoning from an infected blister in his foot that set him back in spring training. He missed more time during the year as he dealt with boils on his neck. He ended up getting replaced in the lineup in September and would never regain his starting role. After the ‘17 season, the Yankees shopped High extensively, nearly reaching deals with the Senators, Dodgers, Red Sox, and Cardinals. They finally reached an accord with the Athletics a few weeks into the season but High refused to report to his new club. The Yankees suspended the outfielder and he walked away from the game, taking a job at a Maryland shipyard rather than shipping off to Philadelphia.

It was the start of an odyssey for High. The Red Sox tried again to trade for him; when High demanded back pay for the time he was suspended, the Yankees balked and he instead returned to the shipyard. The league reinstated High in 1919, but when the Yankees attempted to option him to the minors, he once again chose his job in Maryland. In May of that year, he finally accepted his sale, this time to the Vernon Tigers of the Double-A Pacific Coast League. High spent five seasons there, followed by another with Double-A Columbus and a final season with the International League’s Reading Keystones at the age of 37. Throughout this seven-year wilderness period, he showcased the consistent bat and slick fielding which had made him a valuable big leaguer in his youth.

After his baseball career, High returned to St. Louis, resuming the plumbing career he had put on hold in his early 20s. He died on November 16, 1962 at the age of 75. While never a star, Hugh High was a ballplayer’s ballplayer who helped shore up the Yankees franchise in its early, uncertain days and, through his long journey in minor-league baseball, demonstrated a love of the game few can match.

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.