After two months of inactivity, the Yankees made their first two major moves of the offseason. First they re-signed infielder DJ LeMahieu, their most valuable player over the past two years, to a six-year, $90 million deal. Hours later, they added veteran righthander Corey Kluber to slot behind Gerrit Cole in their rotation.
The easy, superficial assumption every year is the Yankees will simply outspend the competition to address their needs. It’s even more tempting to latch onto such a narrative this winter, as most clubs are tightening their belts in response to the fallen revenues of pandemic baseball.