Report: Yankees operating on budget, claiming massive losses

It might be a long and boring winter for the New York Yankees.

The club is claiming massive losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic and plans to operate on a budget this year, according to Andy Martino of SNY.

Multiple players from New York's 2020 roster are now free agents, including DJ LeMahieu, Masahiro Tanaka, Brett Gardner, James Paxton, and J.A. Happ. The club currently has no plans to re-sign Tanaka, Martino adds.

The Yankees' 2020 payroll was just below $250 million before it was prorated for the abbreviated season. The team's 2021 salary obligations currently total roughly $170 million, according to Baseball Reference.

New York has reportedly been interested in retaining LeMahieu and was considered a top suitor for the utility man early in the offseason. But the team hasn't surfaced in the rumor mill much beyond that.

The Yankees went 33-27 in 2020 to finish second in the AL East behind the Tampa Bay Rays. Despite missing Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, among others, for much of the year, New York posted a plus-45 run differential - good for fourth in the Junior Circuit.