The New York Yankees thought they had it all lined up.
Fresh off another crushing ALCS defeat at the hands of the Houston Astros, the Bronx Bombers pried star right-hander Gerrit Cole away from the Astros in free agency.
With Luis Severino getting a full offseason to strengthen his elbow and James Paxton and Masahiro Tanaka in the middle of the rotation, the Yankees likely felt Cole would be the final piece of the puzzle.
But things started to fall apart in February when Paxton underwent surgery on his back.