The New York Yankees keep telling everyone that they are ready to spend, but the numbers are getting harder to keep up with. They are chasing big names, sure…but there is no clear budget. And to make things worse, Hal Steinbrenner’s latest press conference only adds more questions.

Former Yankee and now podcaster expressed his frustration over the mixed signals that Steinbrenner has been giving.

Talking about the Steinbrenner press conference, he said, “Hal Steinbrenner decided to go into a press conference today and almost play the poverty card.” Tough to believe, isn’t it- coming from the New York Yankees- someone who was known as the “evil empire” of baseball.

And just like that, the conversation has shifted from the Yankees’ off-season plans to whether their owner was simply confusing their own players and fans. Steinbrenner has insisted that the Yanks would love to reduce the payroll, but then went on to say, but realistically they won’t!

As reported by the New York Post’s Greg Joyce, Steinbrenner laid it down simply: “Would it be ideal if I went down [with the payroll]? Of course. But does that mean that’s going to happen? Of course not. We want to field a team we know we believe could win a championship.”

Then he confirmed that the Yankees finished the season with a $319 million payroll—so no penny pinching here.

But one moment that has sparked the firestorm now is Steinbrenner’s pushback on the idea that an $8.2 billion franchise should be turning huge profits. He instead mentioned the $100 million payment to New York City that they make every February. He also talked about how the public assumptions about the team’s financial cushion are not “accurate” or “fair.”

But here, Frazier, as someone who has lived in the system, didn’t feel like Steinbrenner’s statements landed well. He said that the Yankees invested heavily in the tech, the analytics, and the performance science. Everything is there in the system, from high-tech tools to scouting reports—and that, for him, can overwhelm even the pros.

So not only are Steinbrenner and Co. confusing the fans about the financial bandwidth of the team, but they seem to be confusing the players, too. Meanwhile, Cashman is still working from the dark—and he did mention that Grisham’s signing won’t block the Bellinger deal—but the math is simple: unless the Yankees spend clearly, no one will know their intentions.

And the New York Mets are not making things any simpler for the Yanks.

New York Mets gift elder brother—the Yankees are a big problem, suddenly!

Well, the Big Apple baseball battle just got a lot spicier. The Mets first kicked things off with a shocker—flipping Brandon Nimmo, their longest-tenured player, to the Texas Rangers. You bet even Nimmo was lost for words. But with that, they have created a gap in the outfield—and this is where things get uncomfortable for the Yankees.

Because in Round 2, that might involve dealing with Cody Bellinger.

See, Kyle Tucker and Bellinger headline this year’s free agent outfield class. Tucker is a superstar, but Steinbrenner has made it clear that he for sure is not dropping $400 million on anyone. This leaves Bellinger, who just revived his career in pinstripes.

The problem is that if he hops into the crosstown team, the Mets, he might look just as good, and the Mets might want to spend too. David Stearns had told MLB that the ownership will back whatever decisions they make. So you see, Cohen’s check might just be open, as usual.

And keep in mind, the Mets are also trying to bring back Alonso and Edwin Diaz. And unlike Yankee’s Steinbrenner, Stearns didn’t sound confused when asked if he could target all three players; he said, “Sure.”

So, yes, the Yankees have a big-market company. And DiComo even noted that the Nimmo trade also gives the Mets the flexibility to go big—either Tucker or Bellinger. And as far as what the Bronx is up to, Bob Klapisch, the Yankees are determined not to get played like they did last time with Soto.

The Yankees think that Bellinger will stay committed—but is Steinbrenner ready to stomach such a huge contract?