Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees
Have the Yankees Lost Their Edge? Once the ‘Evil Empire,’ New York No Longer Controls MLB’s Offseason
There was a time when the New York Yankees were the undisputed financial powerhouse of Major League Baseball, a franchise so dominant in free agency that they earned the nickname the “Evil Empire.” For decades, they flexed their financial muscle to land the biggest stars, building rosters stacked with elite talent. But in recent years, the tide has shifted.
This offseason has been particularly humbling for the Yankees. They failed to land Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto last year, and this winter, they not only lost Juan Soto to the crosstown rival Mets but also fell out of contention for Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki.
The late George Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ legendary former owner, once famously said, “Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing.” That philosophy fueled the Yankees’ aggressive approach for decades, but under his son, Hal Steinbrenner, the franchise has taken a more measured—some would argue passive—approach in free agency.
A New Era in the Bronx?
To be clear, the Yankees still have a formidable roster. Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole remain franchise cornerstones, and this offseason, they added significant pieces in Max Fried, Paul Goldschmidt, Devin Williams, and Cody Bellinger. But compared to the star-studded winter that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers land Blake Snell, Sasaki, Hyeseong Kim, Tanner Scott, and Michael Conforto—on top of retaining key players—the Yankees’ moves feel underwhelming.
Even Hal Steinbrenner himself acknowledged the financial gap between his team and the Dodgers, admitting in an interview with YES Network’s Meredith Marakovits, “It’s hard for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that they’re doing.”
That kind of statement would have been unthinkable coming from his father, who prioritized dominance at any cost. But in today’s MLB, where deep-pocketed teams like the Dodgers and Mets are outspending the Yankees, the once-mighty “Evil Empire” is starting to feel a little less villainous—and a lot more ordinary.
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