LAS VEGAS — Assuming their talks with J.A. Happ cross the goal line, the Yankees get a B for their starting-rotation makeover.
Shoot, if they had re-signed Happ on Nov. 19 and traded for James Paxton this week here at the winter meetings, it might even feel like a B+.
Either way, the question now becomes, what can the Yankees do to compensate for not getting an A?
One columnist’s proposal: Bullpen, defense and — looking at it through a financial prism — contract extensions. Notice no mention of the words “Manny Machado” in that sentence.