TUCSON, ARIZ. ? Baseball teams won’t be quite as quick this offseason to dole out those megamillion contracts that characterized recent winter spending sprees.

With a new labor deal that transfers money from the big spenders to the smaller markets, a struggling economy and few top players available, teams are talking more about financial discipline than breaking contract barriers this year.

Even the free-spending New York Yankees will have to work within a tighter budget because of the new labor deal that team officials project will cost at least $20 million more in luxury-tax and revenue-sharing payments next season.

The Yankees aren’t the only team that will try to rein in spending as most other teams will try to keep their payroll under the $117 million luxury-tax threshold put in place in the new labor deal.

“We project we’ll have to pay an additional $10 million in revenue sharing,” Seattle general manager Pat Gillick said. “Consequently, that’s got to come from somewhere and we’ll have to be creative in our contracts.”

This newfound austerity has some agents concerned heading into this week’s general managers’ meetings in Arizona.

“There’s really nothing to be gleaned from anything that’s taken place yet,” agent Tom Reich said. “The most common refrain these days is budget, budget, budget, just like real estate with location, location, location. We’ll see what happens. It’s going to be a long winter.”

In the past four offseasons, teams have broken the $100 million mark in contracts for Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Manny Ramirez, Jason Giambi, Mike Hampton, Ken Griffey Jr., Todd Helton and Kevin Brown.

No players in this year’s class figure to get that big a contract but there still are some very attractive players available. Yet it will probably take more time and less money for them to find new deals.

Atlanta aces Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine highlight a group that also includes Jim Thome, Cliff Floyd, Jeff Kent, Roger Clemens and Ivan Rodriguez.

“I think it’s early in the process,” said Glavine’s agent Gregg Clifton, who plans to talk with the New York Yankees, Mets, Texas and Philadelphia this week. “Right now teams are figuring out what their needs are. The market is a long way from establishing itself right now.”

While most teams are talking about budgets, the Phillies figure to be a major player for a change in the free-agent market.

With a new ballpark a year away, the Phillies already have met with Glavine and Thome and had meetings scheduled with third baseman David Bell and pitcher Jamie Moyer.

“We’ve got this figured out to where we can do multiple signings,” Phillies GM Ed Wade said.