How $30 million is hampering the Yankees

Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images Everything about this Yankee season goes back to the team committing to resetting the CBT threshold, finishing the season with a payroll below $210 million, and avoiding the repeater penalties. Since this is the driving force behind the year, every decision they make must be viewed through the CBT lens — not bringing Masahiro Tanaka back is because of the CBT hit, for example.

When you artificially cap your resources like this, efficiency becomes more important. If the Yankees ran a $270 million payroll, they could afford to have some money tied up in less-efficient areas, or certain players underperforming in their roles. Instead, because…