The New York Yankees have been a sleeping giant this offseason as top free agents have signed elsewhere, and big trades have been swung. At any moment they may strike, however, and land one of the biggest fish in this year's sea--Max Scherzer.
The 2013 American League Cy Young winner remains unsigned, and is expected to command a contract in the $200 million range. That prices out many teams, but the Yankees are not necessarily one of them despite a newer frugality in recent seasons.
"Look, it's not over till it's over," co-owner Hal Steinbrenner said. "We still have a full month before spring training. We're always going to continue to improve. I'm not putting a cap on it. We've certainly filled some holes that we had. We'll keep going for the next few weeks."
In the same talk with reporters though, he admitted that he doesn't feel the need to bowl Scherzer over with an exorbitant offer.
"There's just a certain amount I'm going to go. You all know my opinions about payroll, where you should be and where you really don't need to be to win championships," Steinbrenner said. "You don't have to have a $200 million payroll to win."
The Yankees' payroll currently isn't far off--$183 million per Spotrac.com. Despite the high salaries the Yanks are no lock for a postseason berth, and have question marks in their rotation. High-priced ace CC Sabathia made just eight starts in 2014 and has a degenerative knee condition, while expensive Japanese import Masahiro Tanaka endured a scare with a torn UCL that many thought would require Tommy John surgery.
Scherzer, 30, proved in 2014 he was no flash in the pan. He followed up his Cy Young campaign by going 18-5 with a 2.85 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and a career-best 252 strikeouts.
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