NEW YORK (AP) — Outfielder Brett Gardner and pitchers Ivan Nova, David Robertson and Shawn Kelley have agreed to one-year contracts with the New York Yankees, raising the team’s luxury tax payroll to about $181.5 million for 19 players with agreements.
Gardner gets $5.6 million under Friday’s deal, while Robertson earns $5,215,000, Nova $3.3 million and Kelley $1,765,000.
New York, which settled with all its players in arbitration, hopes to be under the $189 million luxury tax threshold. It would appear the Yankees might go over the mark even if they don’t sign Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka.
The Yankees’ payroll was lowered by Alex Rodriguez’s season-long suspension for violations of baseball’s drug agreement and labor contract. While he would have counted for $27.5 million on the team’s tax payroll, the suspension likely will lower his figure $3,155,738, pending agreement by Major League Baseball and the players’ association.
