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Yankees Hit With A $18.9M Luxury Tax Bill

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — The New York Yankees have been hit with an $18.9 million luxury tax by Major League Baseball, the 10th consecutive year they will pay a penalty for their spending.

The Yankees finished with a $222.5 million payroll for purposes of the tax, according to figures sent to teams Thursday and obtained by The Associated Press.

Following its payroll-shedding trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers last summer, Boston finished just $47,177 under the $178 million threshold. The Los Angeles Angels wound up at $176.7 million and Philadelphia at $174.5 million.

Figures include average annual values of contracts for players on 40-man rosters, adjustments for cash in trades and $10.8 million per team in benefits.

New York has run up a luxury tax bill of $224.2 million over the past decade.

Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner says it's his goal to lower the team's payroll to $189 million over the next few years.

"I'm a finance geek," Steinbrenner said Thursday. "I just feel that if you do well on the player development side, and you have a good farm system, you don't need a $220 million payroll. You don't. You can field every bit as good a team with young talent."

Under baseball's new labor contract, the luxury tax threshold will be at $189 million after the 2013 season.

(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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