The New York Yankees have always been known for having a lot of money.
They may not be the richest franchise in baseball anymore, though. The New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers seem to be shelling out even more dough.
But the Yankees have one financial flex going for them, if it can be called a flex.
And it’s this: They’re currently paying three players a combined $43.8 million not to play for them.
Those three guys are DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Hicks and Marcus Stroman. The number works out to $43,785,714, to be exact.
Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber combined luxury tax hit in 2025: $45,134,615
What the Yankees are paying DJ Lemahieu, Aaron Hicks and Marcus Stroman to not play baseball for them in 2025: $43,785,714
How could Aaron Boone do this?
— Earl Simmons (@YankeesFanEarl) August 3, 2025
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Baseball contracts, unlike many of those in other professional sports, are fully guaranteed upon signing.
That means when the Yankees get rid of Hicks in the past, or LeMahieu and Stroman this season, they’re still owed their money.
Stroman was just released after his last start, a bit of a surprise move.
And like Stroman, both Hicks and LeMahieu were better before getting their latest Yankees contracts than they were afterward.
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As a big-market club with deep pockets, the Yankees can afford to make mistakes in contracts every once in a while.
It’s still not ideal that these mistakes are costing more than $43 million to guys not currently wearing the pinstripes in any form.
The $43 million might not come in handy now, but it could matter greatly down the line. That’s very real money that the Yankees won’t have from production they aren’t getting anyway.
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