When Max Scherzer was up for grabs as a free agent in January 2015, the Washington Nationals outbid the Yankees. Eleven months later, the Arizona Diamondbacks constricted the Yanks by signing Zack Greinke.
Loyalists to the once brutally aggressive Yankee Empire that used to sign top-notch free agents at any cost without batting an eye cried out “Luxury Tax! Luxury Tax! We have to avoid the Luxury Tax!” I’ll be honest; I was one of those “loyalists” who believed it was a smart move for the Yanks to practice baseball’s version of economic austerity.