Following missing the playoffs in 2013, the New York Yankees went on a spending spree, as they did the last time they missed the playoffs, 2008, hoping it would produce similar results, as they won a World Series in 2009.
Of the four big acquisitions made (Masahiro Tanaka, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran), two, McCann and Beltran, received the “bust” label after just their first season with the club. McCann’s below-average slash-line of .232/.286/.406 led many to believe the Yankees would regret signing the catcher to a five-year, $85-million contract.