The trade that sent Justin Wilson to Detroit in December was received with mixed reviews by fans and pundits at the time. People were wondering why the Yankees would trade a valuable set-up man for two pitching prospects. This piece from Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News looked at both sides of the move.
The move was made before the Aroldis Chapman deal, and many of critics, myself included, did not like how thin the Yankees bullpen was becoming. The Yankees and Cashman made this deal for two reasons: to get rotation depth in Triple-A and to avoid paying Justin Wilson as he was going into his first year of arbitration.