The Yankees are bringing back a familiar face in Justin Wilson to solidify the bullpen, and this most likely concludes the team’s winter shopping in the major league pitching market. The story of the offseason for New York has been their steadfast determination to field a payroll below the $210 million CBT threshold. Nowhere has this spending cap been felt more than the pitching corps.
The Yankees’ self-imposed budget forced them to shop in the mid-tier pitching market when they needed to pursue top-tier talent. When an organization’s roster building objective lies not in fielding the best possible team but in resetting a tax rate to save a few million dollars down the line, the competitiveness of the team is going to suffer.