After the 2008 season, the Yankees made a number of free agent splashes, at least one of which we’ll profile later in this series. The signings of CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, and AJ Burnett reshaped the team and wrenched open a window that looked like it could have been closing, setting up a period of excellence that saw a World Series title and 389 regular season wins between 2009 and 2012.
However, just before that 2008 campaign, the Yankees made a move that was arguably just as important to their success around the turn of the decade.