The Yankees actually attempted to sign a major league free agent this offseason, but the deal fell through. According to the New York Post, a deal was in place with pitcher Tommy Hunter before he failed his physical to make the deal official. The deal would have been for two years and somewhere between $11.5 and $12 million, according to Joel Sherman.
Hunter needed surgery twice this offseason with the most recent coming on January 7. Both of those surgeries were to repair injuries to his core, but Sherman speculates that there might have been concerns about his arm as well.