Going into 2011, the Yankees had a bit of a pitching problem. They had CC Sabathia as the reliable ace at the top of the rotation, but after that, things were a bit iffy.
A.J. Burnett had struggled in 2010, and it was unclear what he could bring to the table. Phil Hughes started out 2010 well and made the All-Star team, but fell off down the stretch. The Javier Vázquez 2.0 experiment from the previous season failed and he left in free agency. Andy Pettitte wouldn’t pitch as he had what ended up being a gap year, “retiring” after 2010 — although he would later return for 2012 and ‘13.