Yankees' Opening Day payroll jumps up nine percent over 2014

The Yankees opened the 2015 Major League Baseball season with the second highest payroll in the league for the second consecutive year, using $219,282,196 to fill out it's roster this season, according to the Associated Press' latest calculations.

That number is up from the Bombers' 2014 opening day payroll of $203,812,506 -- a nine percent increase.

After a 2013 offseason that saw the Bombers spent close to half a billion dollars on the likes of Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, Masahiro Tanaka, and Carlos Beltran, Brian Cashman and his staff were much quieter this winter making smaller moves, which included the signing of Chase Headley and Stephen Drew, grabbing free-agent reliever Andrew Miller while letting David Robertson walk, and trading for younger players like Didi Gregorius and Nathan Eovaldi.

The Yankees also regained Alex Rodriguez's contract this season, with the slugger coming back from his one-year Biogenesis suspension.

Here’s the full list of all 30 club’s Opening Day payrolls, as calculated by the AP:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers         $272,789,040
2. New York Yankees           $219,282,196
3. Boston Red Sox                  $187,407,202
4. Detroit Tigers                      $173,813,750
5. San Francisco Giants          $172,672,111
6. Washington Nationals        $163,264,559
7. Los Angeles Angels           $150,933,083
8. Texas Rangers                   $142,140,873
9. Philadelphia Phillies           $135,827,500
10. Toronto Blue Jays            $122,506,600
11. St. Louis Cardinals          $120,869,458
12. Seattle Mariners               $119,798,060
13. Chicago Cubs                  $119,006,885
14. Cincinnati Reds               $117,197,072
15. Chicago White Sox         $115,238,678
16. Kansas City Royals         $113,618,650
17. Baltimore Orioles            $110,146,097
18. Minnesota Twins            $108,945,000
19. Milwaukee Brewers        $105,002,536
20. Colorado Rockies           $102,006,130
21. New York Mets              $101,409,244
22. San Diego Padres           $100,675,896
23. Atlanta Braves                $97,578,565
24. Arizona D-Backs           $91,518,833
25. Pittsburgh Pirates            $88,278,500
26. Cleveland Indians          $86,091,175
27. Oakland Athletics          $86,086,667
28. Tampa Bay Rays            $76,061,707
29. Houston Astros              $70,910,100
30. Miami Marlins                $68,479,000

And as for the Yankees' salaries on the books this season:

1B Mark Teixeira: $23,125,000
SP CC Sabathia: $23,000,000
3B Alex Rodriguez: $22,000,000
SP Masahiro Tanaka: $22,000,000
CF Jacoby Ellsbury: $21,142,857
C Brian McCann: $17,000,000
RF Carlos Beltran: $15,000,000
3B Chase Headley: $13,000,000
LF Brett Gardner: $12,500,000
RP Andrew Miller: $9,000,000
2B Stephen Drew: $5,000,000
1B Garrett Jones: $5,000,000
SP Nathan Eovaldi: $3,300,000
CF Chris Young: $2,500,000
SP Michael Pineda: $2,100,000
RP Esmil Rogers: $1,480,000
RP David Carpenter: $1,275,000
SP Adam Warren: $572,600
RP Justin Wilson: $556,000
SS Didi Gregorius: $553,900
C John Ryan Murphy: $518,700
RP Chris Martin: $511,025
RP Chasen Shreve: $510,275
IF Gregorio Petit: $510,000
RP Dellin Betances: $507,500

Players on the DL:

SP Chris Capuano: $5,000,000
SP Ivan Nova: $3,300,000
SS Brendan Ryan: $2,000,000
2B Jose Pirela: $510,000

The Yankees are also responsible for $3,000,000 of Martin Prado's salary in Miami.

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Game 1: Alex Rodriguez makes his long-awaited return on Tanaka Day

No surprises in the Yankees' first starting lineup of the season, as the Bombers host the Toronto Blue Jays this afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for around 1:15 pm ET. 

The starting lineup

CF Jacoby Ellsbury

LF Brett Gardner

RF Carlos Beltran

1B Mark Teixeira

C Brian McCann

3B Chase Headley

DH Alex Rodriguez

2B Stephen Drew

SS Didi Gregorius

SP Masahiro Tanaka

Three things to be watching for

1. Of course, everybody will be watching as Alex Rodriguez steps on the Yankee Stadiun field today for the first time since 2013. A-Rod put together a good spring training down in Florida, but struggled in his last couple of exhibition matchups, going 0-for-8 with six strikeouts to finish the spring. 

2. Aside from A-Rod, #VeloWatch will be on everyone's radar. Masahiro Tanaka is coming off of a 2014 season that included a couple of elbow injuries that forced him to toy around with the idea of Tommy John surgery. He opted against that and is hoping to stay healthy this season. What about his velo? Don't expect much, says the Japanese right hander. 

3. Should the Yankees go into the 9th inning with small lead, who will we see attempt to close out the game? How Girardi has gone on record saying the Yankees will go into the season with co-closers, using both Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller. Girardi says he and Pitching Coach Larry Rothschild will determind each day's closer based on the numbers and matchups.

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First Pitch: Welcome back, Yanks Beat Blog!

We're back!

Yeah, I know, it's been a while since we've delivered you the daily Yankees news and content that some of you actually enjoy reading, but don't worry, we're back.

The Yankees open up the 2015 season today at home against the Blue Jays. And with the new year, comes a regenerated Yanks Beat Blog. Enjoy

Yankees News and Stories for 4/6/15:

Andrew Marchand | ESPN New York: Like a lot of teams, the Yankees have plenty of questions to answer heading into the 2015. Here are 10 big things to lookout for first the first pitch taking place this afternoon.

Ken Davidoff | NY Post: Even if the Yankees have a bad season and miss the playoffs for a third consecutive year, it could still be a winning season as long as their younger core of players takes the next step.

Joel Sherman | NY Post: As much as the Yankees would hate to admit it, Alex Rodriguez is their biggest attraction for the fans this season.

George A. King III | NY Post: Pondering some of the highs and lows that could come about from the Yankees' 2015 season.

Mark Feinsand | NY Daily News: The Yankees will have former manager Joe Torre throwing out the first pitch this afternoon, but the recently retired Derek Jeter won't be there at the game.

Anthony McCarron | NY Daily News: With the Yankees sloping downwards, and the Mets kinda-sorta-maybe heading up, CC Sabathia's says the Yankees are not ready to turn NYC over to Matt Harvey and the Mets.

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