According to the Associated Press, the Yankees will pay a luxury tax to MLB for the 10th consecutive year.
The Yankees finished with a $222.5 million payroll for the purposes of the tax, well above the $178 million threshold. They were charged at 42.5 percent of the overage, so they’ll owe $18.9 million to MLB. No other team will pay a luxury tax for their 2012 payroll.
This year’s fee is up from the $13.9 million tax paid by the Yankees last year. The club has racked up a luxury tax bill of $224.2 million over the past decade, but the streak may not continue for much longer. The Yankees are currently trying to get their payroll under the new $189 million luxury tax threshold beginning in 2014, which is a big reason why general manager Brian Cashman has tried to hand out one-year deals this offseason. Ichiro Suzuki’s new two-year, $13 million deal is an exception, though they only went there because he received multi-year offers elsewhere.
The Red Sox paid the luxury tax in 2010 and 2011, but they fell just $47,177 short of the threshold this year. August’s mega-trade with the Dodgers gave them just enough breathing room.