After Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and David Wells left in free agency after the 2003 season, the New York Yankees struggled to fill out the starting rotation behind future Hall of Famer Mike Mussina. 2004’s back foursome of Kevin Brown, Javier Vazquez, Jon Lieber, and José Contreras proved inconsistent, and while they swung big by acquiring Randy Johnson, Carl Pavano, and Jaret Wright the following winter, it took a prospect call-up (Chien-Ming Wang), a midseason acquisition (Shawn Chacon) and an out-of-nowhere campaign (Aaron Small) to stabilize the rotation.
Wang put together a solid rookie campaign, posting a 8-5 record with a 4.