Be careful. Don't put the Yankees in this or that slot and expect them to stay there.

The "Luxury Tax" is a monster. If you get over it, it's really no big deal - unless you STAY over it. The penalities grow each year and the Yankees have been over for a while so their bill is getting extreme - even for such a "rich franchise".

To reset the beast, all you have to do is be under the thing for 1 year. Then, the penalties the following year are at the baseline.

The Yankees are determined to be under the penalty line this year. They're buying stuff they can dump once the year is up (with minor exceptions) so that, when "tax time" comes around next year, they won't have to pay. THEN, they'll be dumping truckloads of money on free agents (including Elvis) in 2014 and beyond (until the monster wakes up on 'em, again).

Aggiecurt, the issue is beltre IS 34, I think 35 before the season starts, and the regression for mid 30s (arod and michael young and even jeter, at least defensively, to name a couple recent examples) players can happen out of no where and very quickly. I love beltre as much as anyone. But, father time cant be beat.

@Profar
Belre's 4th year is a vesting option. If they really plan on keeping Olt, he's the key to making sure that 4th year $16 mil option doesn't vest. Personally, I'd rather keep Olt at AAA the whole year if they don't trade him...especially if they sign Berkman. Olt keeping that extra year of control would help us either way by holding onto him or trading him.

Arizona can believe they are competing w LA and SF all they want but realistically Arizona is 5 years away from winning. If they turned down Olt, Sardinas and Buckel then Kevin Towers is a moron. Upton has fallen out of favor with the fans in Arizona because their team is garbage and everyone wants to pick on the star. Let him come to Texas especially if JD offered up that much. Wow... I'm shocked Arizona would turn down Olt, Sardinas and Buckel...

either way go Rangers and please tell Wash to play the kids

@P1 Stefen: are you suggesting the Rangers will pull a Kenesaw Mountain Landis on Beltre to keep his option from vesting? Because that's ridiculous.

@Andy hahaha
Baseball Reference has this for the vesting option:
"The Rangers can void 2016 season if Beltre fails to have either 1,200 plate appearances in 2014-15 combined or 600 in 2015."

Making sure that option doesn't vest is really not hard to do with Olt in the fold. Anyone with half a brain would make sure that $16 mil is off the books if they had a 3B prospect like Olt.

Oops. I think I said Landis when I meant Comiskey. Obviously he was the one that benched Cicotte, not Landis. Big oops.

You really think that, if he's still effective and healthy, the Rangers will deliberately bench Beltre in order to void his option? Pretty sure that would be contested.

I do, but I don't think it would be a huge benching that would make headlines. 600 plate appearances is about 150 games played. That can easily be dropped throughout the season if we have Olt. What would the players association say? You're giving a 35-36 year old player off days so the top 3B prospect in baseball can get some work in? The Rangers would be dumb not to do it in my opinion. It's simple business. Beltre could always be resigned at a fraction of the cost.

Probably depends on how well Olt does between now and then, and that's assuming he's not traded (if I understand correctly, the Rangers have tried to trade him a couple of times), and if we keep him he should have plenty of time to prove whether he's worthy of that spot or not. I don't think it's going to end up mattering much because, if Olt's good enough, we'll find a place for him, 3B or elsewhere. If he's not, either stick with Beltre through his contract or try the next guy. I'm not sure who's next on the depth chart, but I doubt Gallo sticks at 3B, and we already traded Villanueva, so...

P1, even if Beltre does not make those plate appearances, it is an option and $2m less than the previous year. So if even he does not make those abs, the Rangers will still sign him if he is at the same level of play. My opinion is that Beltre has been playing pro ball since 1996, was even signed illegally by the Dodgers, who had to resign him a second time after granted free agency [ signed too young ], he will, barring major injury, be the same Adrian when he is 37 as he has done since 31, and still be at that age the best defensive third base man. There will be a wall, but look for it many years from now. But Olt could also be something special, both on offense and defense. Until then who is to say he can not do a Teixeira, a very good third baseman, who crosses the field and becomes the best defensive first baseman in the game. David, great the read from some one else who understands what the Yankees are trying to do, and for Yankee fans not to panic because they have not signed anyone to a mind blowing ARodish contract.

Buster tweets watch Seattle as possible landing spot for Upton. I guess towers wants a pitcher and catcher for Upton now and we can all stop guessing if az is ok at ss

@les
Re-signing Beltre is much different than having him on the books for $16 mil. I said that he could be brought back. He wouldn't get $16 m. from anyone though. To say he'll be the same Beltre at 37 as he is now is borderline ludicrous. Father Time waits for no one. He may still be good, but the odds he's still an MVP candidate are slim to none by then. Like Andy said, this all depends if Olt is still here. Which who knows at this point. If he is, Beltre shouldn't hit that option. It's just business.

"I guess towers wants a pitcher and catcher for Upton now"

Oh heavens please don't trade Alfaro...

Pretty sure ARI has turned down Olt-centered packages because they've already got a pretty good 3B prospect in Matt Davidson (ranked 33'rd overall and 4th-ranked 3B prospect in BA's 2012 mid-season prospect rankings) ready to go and they're set at 1B for the long-term with Paul Goldschmitt.

So if they don't need Olt and not really concentrating on a SS in a deal, go with Buckel,Font, and their pick of Sardinas, Garcia, or Odor? Is that enough to get it done? Two good pitching prospects and a middle infield prospect?

NorthTex,

Still, that package doesn't accomplish a whole lot. Buckel is a #3-#4 type, and Font is a relief pitcher (the least valuable, most easily-replaced commodity in baseball). Sardinas won't be ready for at least a couple years, and Leury Garcia isn't an upper-tier prospect -- more like a utility infielder/pinch-runner. Odor is only 18.