It might be hard to believe, seeing as the Yankees had the second-highest payroll in the league in 2021, but there are a lot of fans out there — myself included — who think this team needs to be spending more. Whenever I see the topic of free agency floating around the site or on social media, there’s a fairly consistent chorus of fans who seem to think that the contracts of Giancarlo Stanton, Luis Severino, and Aaron Hicks somehow excuse the Yankees’ refusal to spend more on big-ticket free agents.
I’m taking it upon myself to potentially bear the wrath of some furious fans by arguing that not only were these deals the right call at the time, but also that they should not be used to defend or excuse this team’s recent refusal to sign big-ticket free agents (Gerrit Cole notwithstanding) or extend Aaron Judge.