Last winter, the New York Mets inked Jason Vargas to a two-year $14 million deal to eat some innings as the fifth starter. Ironically enough, the Mets front office used the fact that Vargas led the American League in wins to justify the signing.
There were already guys competing for a spot in the rotation last season, and signing a free agent to a guaranteed deal made the competition even heavier. Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Steven Matz, Seth Lugo, and Robert Gsellman were all competing for the final two spots.