TAMPA — Hal Steinbrenner has shown his father's willingness to do what it takes to win, stretching the payroll when necessary as he did this winter to sign Hiroki Kuroda.



But the Yankees' managing general partner doesn't believe a $200 million payroll is a necessity to bring a World Series title back to the Bronx — something he plans to prove within two years.



Steinbrenner spoke Thursday at the ballpark that bears his father's name, stressing his desire to get the Yankees' payroll down from $210 million to $189 million by 2014.



"I'm looking at it as a goal, but my goals are normally considered a requirement," Steinbrenner said. "That $189 (million) is a real number, and we're going to be shooting for it. I think with all the young talent we have coming up, particularly pitching, that's a realistic goal."



Under baseball's new labor agreement, the luxury tax threshold will rise from $178 million to $189 million before the 2014 season, while the Yankees' rate will rise from 40% in 2011 to 42.5% this season, then rocket to 50% in 2013 if they continue to exceed the threshold.



Getting the payroll below $189 million in 2014 would reset the rate to 17.5%, undoubtedly a key component to Steinbrenner's plan.



The Yankees paid $13.9 million in luxury tax last year, their lowest total since 2003. The Red Sox were the only other team in the majors to pay the tax, shelling out $3.4 million last year.



Getting the payroll under the threshold would also enable the Yankees to recoup some of the money they pay out in revenue sharing.



Revenue hasn't been a problem thanks to the YES Network and the new Yankee Stadium, but Steinbrenner believes that putting a winning team on the field doesn't require breaking the bank.



"I'm a finance geek; I guess I always have been," Steinbrenner said. "That's my background; budgets matter and balance sheets matter. 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.



"Plenty of teams win without the kind of payrolls we have. I'm excited about the young kids we have; that definitely helps."

Steinbrenner was referring specifically to Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances, twice mentioning them by name. The highly touted prospects are unlikely to make an impact at the big-league level this year, but the Yankees are hoping that one — if not both — will reach the majors by next season, inserting low-cost, high-quality arms into the rotation.



"We'll see how these young kids, Betances, Banuelos, we'll see how they perform toward the end of this year, this year and into next year," Steinbrenner said. "They're going to play a big part of that. The young kids are going to play a big part of being able to lower this payroll."



Given that the Yankees already have $75 million committed to Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and Derek Jeter in 2014 — $80 million if Jeter exercises his option — adding low-cost players will be crucial, as the Yankees must make some difficult free-agent decisions over the next two winters.



Nick Swisher and Russell Martin are both expected to hit the market after this season, while Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain will be eligible for free agency after the 2013 campaign.



"We've got some room to do things," Steinbrenner said. "But I am going to need some of these young pitchers to step up. We're not far off."



The Yankees have had a long-standing policy not to negotiate extensions with their players until the contracts are finished.



While Steinbrenner has no plans to engage in contract talks during the season, he didn't rule out the idea of speaking to Cano or Granderson about an extension after it.



"I'm not big on doing extensions, so we'll just have to see," Steinbrenner said. "Right now I just want to get through this season before we talk to anybody. I want to get through this season, I know the players want to focus on that and concentrate on that. At the end of the season, toward the end of the season, I'll consider anything."



With the addition of Kuroda and Michael Pineda, Steinbrenner said he was "excited" for this season, although he wasn't making any bold predictions.



"I think we've got, on paper, definitely a better team than we did last year," Steinbrenner said. "I think our starting pitching is improved, and that was one of our goals in the offseason."



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