Thirty-seven days after a forgettable Yankees season ended well shy of expectations, Hal Steinbrenner belatedly acknowledged a “bad year’’ on his watch.
“It was awful. We accomplished nothing,’’ said the Yankees managing general partner in a Tuesday press conference. “The fans didn’t get anywhere close to what they deserve.’’
Outside of that assessment, the largely out-of-patience Yankees fan base won’t be satisfied by Steinbrenner’s take on coming changes – “might be some, might be none’’ – with the same principal players charged with improving on a playoff-less 82-80 season.
“But we’re all very passionate about this and we’re working our (butts) off and we’re going to do everything we can to right the ship for 2024.’
Hal Steinbrenner on Yankees payroll
With a payroll already bloated by bad, long-term contracts, the Yankees’ ability to quickly steer out of their current mess might require two or three costly player additions.
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Identifying those targets will take place soon, said Steinbrenner, though he wouldn’t divulge much more than a general approach: “Everything is on the table when it comes to free agents.’’
Steinbrenner said that $300 million “isn’t a hard threshold’’ for payroll, but he restated that “a team shouldn’t need a $300 million’’ payroll to win.
If the Yankees were to hold that line, the idea of making more than just one expensive addition seems unrealistic.
Yankees’ targets this winter
Meanwhile, Steinbrenner admitted the need to improve a woeful lineup.
And this club is in desperate need of an impact lefty bat at a time when Cody Bellinger is a free agent and the San Diego Padres’ Juan Soto is potentially available via trade.
Japanese pitching ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, due to be posted, is on the Yankees’ radar (“we’ve certainly done our homework on him and many others,’’ Steinbrenner said.
But how aggressive will they get?
“We have not talked about (targets) at length,’’ Steinbrenner said, adding that “we’re going to be active, as we always are, in the free agent/trade market.’’
Aaron Boone was not a lock to return as manager
“Should Aaron Boone be our manager next year?’ was among Steinbrenner’s first offseason questions.
Steinbrenner’s favorable opinion of Boone aside, the managing general partner sought opinions of his players (like Aaron Judge), advisors (like Andy Pettitte and Nick Swisher) and front office vets (Brian Sabean, Omar Minaya) and “they all came to the same conclusion.
“Aaron is a good manager, and he should be our manager in 2024,’’ Steinbrenner said of Boone, who has one guaranteed year remaining on his contract.
Tough questions at Yankees meetings
Steinbrenner purposely stayed out of the organization’s lengthy three-day breakdown sessions immediately after the regular season, so as to foster a frank dialogue and not influence opinion.
But before the meetings began, Steinbrenner reminded his baseball ops personnel to keep their egos in check.
“If anybody thought everything in your world was just perfect and you’re doing everything right, then you should just leave, because you’ll be useless to the proceedings,’’ Steinbrenner said.
Reading the transcripts of those meetings, Steinbrenner categorized them as honest, heated at times, but respectful and productive.
Steinbrenner’s close working relationship with GM Brian Cashman is intact, and Minaya and Sabean “are going to be an integral part in everything we do.’’
Yankees’ analytics review
Steinbrenner says the review by outside company Zelus Analytics will be ongoing, comparing its ideas with how the Yankees apply analytics – an area in need of improvement, as Judge mentioned last month.
“I don’t know if it’s going to lead to any changes or not in analytics,’’ said Steinbrenner, adding that it remains Boone’s decision on how to incorporate in-game data.
As an aside, Steinbrenner said Boone felt the team wasn’t bunting enough, and that an emphasis on bunting will be made on the player development level.
“I can assure you we don’t have an analyst standing behind Boone in the dugout, telling him you need to pinch-hit here, you need to get this pitcher out of here,’’ said Steinbrenner.
Steinbrenner said it was assistant GM Michael Fishman’s recommendation to hire Zelus for the review. It was Fishman’s analytical department that has come under fire in recent years.
Yankees’ strength and conditioning staff
The physical issues of veteran players, many with injury track records, contributed to the Yankees’ first postseason miss since 2016.
Losing expensive players to the injured list isn’t a new theme around the Yankees, but Steinbrenner said he’s “very comfortable’’ with his training and strength and conditioning staff.
In a midseason look into the methods and practices of the staff, led by Eric Cressey, “there were a lot of injuries, but… there really wasn’t a smoking gun,’’ said Steinbrenner.