The New York Yankees’ 40-man roster is down to 35 players after Friday night’s non-tender deadline.
Infielder Jon Berti and relief pitcher Tim Mayza were not tendered contracts by the Yankees; they will join the free-agent pool. The Yankees announced that they had reached settlements with pitcher JT Brubaker, who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates this season, and outfielder Trent Grisham. The Yankees also tendered contracts to Clarke Schmidt, Nestor Cortes, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Mark Leiter Jr., Scott Effross and Jose Trevino. Financial terms were not known at the time of publication. The club has not gone to arbitration with any player since 2017, when relief pitcher Dellin Betances was the last to take the Yankees to court.
The Yankees’ payroll for 2025 entered Friday at an estimated $238.8 million, according to Cot’s Contracts. With Friday’s moves, the Yankees have created approximately $7.8 million in additional space. Every dollar saved helps the Yankees with additional financial flexibility. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner spoke earlier this week about how he feels about where the payroll stands at this point in the offseason.
“We are in a better starting position than we were a year ago,” Steinbrenner said. “There’s no doubt about that. Year after year after year after year, payroll is similar to this year and the luxury taxes, like others, are not sustainable and not feasible. That’s the case for the vast majority of owners and maybe all the owners year after year after year. It doesn’t mean that I can’t do what I want to do.
“We’ve got the ability to sign any player that we would like to sign.”
While re-signing Juan Soto remains the Yankees’ top priority this offseason, finding cost-effective alternatives at other positions could help the team save significant money. The first luxury tax threshold for 2025 is set at $241 million. The Yankees face a 50 percent tax on every dollar spent over that amount, up to $20 million. For spending between $20 million and $40 million above the threshold, the tax rate jumps to 62 percent. The tax increases to 95 percent for every dollar spent between $40 million and $60 million above $241 million. Finally, any payroll exceeding $301 million would be taxed at a steep 110 percent rate.
Staying at the $301 million payroll mark in 2025 could help the Yankees save roughly $40 million in total spending after factoring in the tax penalties associated with the estimated $314.9 million payroll in 2024, according to Cot’s.
Why Berti and Mayza were non-tendered
Mayza, projected to earn $4 million in arbitration, was a prime candidate to be non-tendered. After being designated for assignment by the Toronto Blue Jays earlier in the season, Mayza was claimed by the Yankees. He appeared in 15 games, finishing with a solid 4.00 ERA. Mayza earned a spot on the Yankees’ playoff roster after starting pitcher Nestor Cortes was sidelined with a flexor strain late in the season. With the injury to Cortes, the team sought a second left-handed reliever to complement Tim Hill. But with Mayza seen as a low-leverage reliever, paying him around $4 million would not be a wise allocation of resources.
Berti was projected to earn $3.8 million in arbitration. The utility infielder missed most of the 2024 season due to groin and calf injuries, limiting him to just 66 at-bats after the club acquired him from the Miami Marlins shortly before Opening Day. At the time, Berti was seen as a potential candidate to start at third base with DJ LeMahieu sidelined by a foot injury. When Anthony Rizzo broke his fingers at the end of the season, Berti became a platoon partner at first base with Oswaldo Cabrera in the American League Division Series.
Berti will be 35 next season and doesn’t offer much offensive value at this stage of his career. Tendering him a contract and trading him later would likely not yield much in return for the Yankees.
This could help explain why the Yankees decided to tender a contract to Grisham, whom the club settled with on a one-year, $5 million deal to avoid arbitration. While not a hefty salary, it’s reasonable for a player who could be a fourth outfielder or a starter elsewhere. For example, Harrison Bader received a one-year, $10 million contract from the New York Mets in free agency last season. Like Grisham, Bader is a glove-first outfielder with a light offensive profile. Grisham provides value for the Yankees as a bench option or potentially as a trade piece later in the offseason.
(Top photo of Jon Berti: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
