Yankees’ Hal Steinbrenner talks 2026 payroll, salary cap and more

There’s been speculation that Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner plans to drop payroll to under $300 million next year instead of spending whatever it takes to build a roster best suited to finally end a franchise championship drought that now is up to 16 seasons.

There’s been speculation that the Yankees’ three-fold offseason plan is:

A. Try to go into 2026 with the same lineup nucleus that was good enough to lead the AL in runs and homers last year by re-signing free agent outfielder Cody Bellinger after overpaying to keep center fielder Trent Grisham.

B. Add bullpen arms but not necessarily spend for one of the pricy free agent closers because David Bednar is perfectly fine in that role.

C. Redo the bench to give manager Aaron Boone platoon options similarly to what was accomplished a