If there’s been one main complaint about the Yankees over the last five years or so, it’s been their devotion to The Plan. They’re not downright cheap, as they spend money where they need to in order to assemble a roster that can win 96-99 games and go into the playoffs with the division title where everything else is considered a crapshoot. This strategy repeats every year, and if that’s your idea of success, the Yankees have been quite successful.
That was mostly the design for this season as well — the team spent big on Aaron Judge, brought in Carlos Rodón, and based on preseason projections, they were the favorites for the AL East and had the best World Series odds in the league.