The Futility Infielder

Anybody wishing to argue that the spend-happy New York Yankees have an unlimited payroll would do well to consider the mounting evidence against that notion. Last week the team declined its 2006 option on reliever Paul Quantrill (for $3.6 million), though he's still under contract for '05 ($3 mil). They also cut loose on first baseman Travis Lee ($3 mil), who was limited to 19 at-bats before going on the DL with a torn labrum.

But Friday's news brought the biggest blow against the notion of the empire's supposedly unlimited coffers. Brian Cashman and company declined their $8 million option on starter Jon Lieber who went 14-8 with a 4.33 ERA in the regular season and 1-1, 3.43 in the postseason, showing himself to be one of only two reliable Yankee starters in September and October.

The Yanks have said they'd like to retain Lieber and will offer him a two-year deal with an average annual value of $5-6 million. Such a move would save them additional dollars in luxury tax assessments. According to the latest Collective Bargaining Agreeement, the portion of 2005 team payroll over $128 million (calculated according to the average annual value of each contract, not actual dollars) will be subject to the luxury tax, and as three-time offenders for going over that threshold, the Yanks will pay a whopping 40 percent tariff. If one estimates the team's 2005 payroll around $200 million, that's a $30 million icing on the cake. Assuming they can re-sign Leiber to a deal worth $2 mil less per year -- anything but a given even in this relatively deep market for free-agent starters -- they'll save themselves as much as another $1.6 million over the next two years.

That may seem like chump change, but clearly there is some belt-tightening going on in the Bronx. Friday also brought the news that YES anchor Fred Hickman will depart after being asked to take a pay cut. Hickman will become an anchor for ESPN's SportsCenter, a gig that doesn't carry nearly the prestige it once did. According to the Daily News, other YES contracts up include Suzyn Waldman, Bobby Murcer and Ken Singleton, with the latter also a target for cuts: "A source said YES brass is already 'playing hardball' with Singleton," writes Bob Raissman. It will be a sad day if and when they let the smooth Singleton go.

The hot stove financial news did bring one hilarious moment yesterday, when agent Scott Boras declared that centerfielder Carlos Beltran, the prize of this year's free-agent crop, is seeking a 10-year contract. While Beltran is a fine player who will command top dollar even in a relatively down market, this one is a side-splitter. The trend since the 2002 CBA is away from such long-term contracts in the first place, especially given that insurers won't touch anything longer than a three-year deal.

It's questionable how Boras' unrealistic demands will have an impact on the Yanks' pursuit of Beltran. While they've shown a willingness to hand out epic-length deals (Derek Jeter's 10-year, $191 million pact and Jason Giambi's 7-year, $120 albatross, not to mention the $112 million they're taking up on Alex Rodriguez's contract) those were all signed prior to the aforementioned CBA. They've got major long-term tsuris already, with over $320 million committed from 2006-2010 and the punitive measure of the luxury tax, which will hit them for another 40 percent in 2006 (there is no provision for a 2007 tax, though it's likely that will be retroactively applied via the next CBA). Beltran won't get ten years anywhere unless he stabs Boras to death, a verdict which would probably be ruled justifiable homicide anyway. But even if he ends up commanding something on the order of six years at $14 million (as the New York Post's George King predicts), such a deal carries those hidden costs for the Yanks beyond what a competitor might pay. It also further inhibits the team's long-term financial flexibility, not to mention what it does in the short term, which is to likely send the eight-figure salary of either Bernie Williams or Jason Giambi to the bench on days when Giambi can't play the field, as I've already discussed elsewhere.

Taken as a whole, the declined options, which save the Yanks $13.7 million, could be read as a proactive attempt to limit the impact of a Beltran contract to a strict dollar-for-dollar increase. It's only money, but don't get the idea that even the richest of the rich aren't watching where every dollar goes.