Hal Steinbrenner
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New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner firmly believes Brian Cashman and the rest of the front office executed the right offseason moves.

Robby Sabo

The little general has spoken.

Hal Steinbrenner, the owner of the New York Yankees, has laid down the proverbial gauntlet. He’s provided a junior missive—similarly to the mega versions spoken by his father, George Steinbrenner.

Speaking publicly the week prior to the commencement of the 2019 MLB campaign, Steinbrenner proclaimed his Yankees made the right moves this past offseason, via ESPN. He also added the very exciting (to some fans) news that the club is never done in the transaction business until Opening Day.

“Fans should keep an open mind that I’m never done until I’m done, and that’s usually not until Opening Day,” he said. “Proposals come to me every day with these guys, between the analytics guys and the pro scouting guys, and I’m going to consider every single one of them.”

Steinbrenner also took issue with the narrative that the Yankees aren’t spending enough money. As of right now, only one MLB team (Washington Nationals) ranks ahead as per offseason spending by way of free agency.

“If there’s a narrative that we’re not spending money and being cheap, it’s just false,” he said. “I mean, we’re well above $200 million [in payroll] — we’re at $220 [million] right now — and we’re well above where we were last year. We did everything we wanted to do to really improve, again, the pitching, because that’s where I wanted improvement, because as far as I’m concerned pitching was a big problem in the division series, more so than anything else.”

There hasn’t been a Manny Machado or Bryce Harper signing (as the two mega-sluggers remain free agents). Instead, names like Troy Tulowitzki, DJ LeMahieu, Adam Ottavino, and James Paxton have all come to the Bronx.

In the end, there’s no question about this one inarguable fact: Hal Steinbrenner is not his father. Instead of irrational, spur-of-the-moment reactions that lead to horrid prospect trades and an inflated, old, tired roster, the young Hal leans on general manager Brian Cashman to keep pace with the young positional-playing way of the baseball world.

At least not until does he find himself suspended by baseball (like his father), giving way to an excellent rebuild (circa Buck Showalter and Gene “Stick” Michael) will Hal ever resemble George Steinbrenner.


Robby Sabo is a co-founder, CEO and credentialed New York Jets content creator for Jets X-Factor - Jet X, which includes Sabo's Sessions (in-depth film breakdowns) and Sabo with the Jets. Host: Underdog Jets Podcast with Wayne Chrebet and Sabo Radio. Member: Pro Football Writers of America. Coach: Port Jervis (NY) High School. Washed up strong safety and 400M runner. SEO: XL Media. Founder: Elite Sports NY - ESNY (Sold in 2020). SEO: XL Media. Email: robby.sabo[at]jetsxfactor.com