The 2021 Yankees season produced loads of storylines, as every year of baseball does. The campaign was defined by the team’s streakiness, its quest to push back into the playoff race after a rough start, by its consistent inconsistency. For those in the know, however, there was an off-field plotline that loomed just as large as any story that played out on the diamond, in the form of the Yankees’ journey back beneath the luxury tax threshold.
Every move the Yankees made ahead of and during the 2021 season was informed by the club’s desire to run a CBT payroll less than $210 million.